Tour de London – Ben Owens cycles between London prisons

Published September 2, 2010 Fundraiser Story Leave a Comment
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Ben Owen came up with the idea of cycling around all of London’s prisons, making this the latest in the New Bridge series of Cycle Challenges.

Having heard that a group of cyclists were going round all of London’s professional and semi-professional football grounds, Ben tweaked the concept to do a cycle ride covering all of London’s eight prisons!

The ride is set to begin at Feltham Young Offenders and moves onto Wormwood Scrubs, Holloway, Pentonville, Belmarsh, Brixton, Wandsworth before finishing up at Latchmere House, and an open prison near Richmond.

Most of the 65 mile-odd ride that they’ll be riding on Sunday September 19th will be using the back streets, parks and the canals of the capital. It’s going to be a fantastic way to see London.

Ben has plotted the whole route for you to look at on www.bikely.com, simply type any of the above prisons into their search engine and you’ll find the leg that arrives or departs from that prison.

Every penny raised will be for the recruitment and training of more volunteers; working to prevent crime by befriending prisoners, many of whom have no contact with the outside world. New Bridge relies on donations so its volunteers can provide vital links to the community to over 300 prisoners, helping them towards a crime free future.

You can support Ben by donating through his Virgin Money Giving page.

Go west (London) for the UK’s best charity fundraisers

Published August 31, 2010 Press Releases Leave a Comment
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And Tonbridge, Aberdeen, Chelmsford and South West London also do well, says Virgin Money Giving

West London is the charity fundraising capital of the UK, analysis from not-for-profit online fundraising service Virgin Money Giving shows.

Fundraisers in West London raised an average of £1,260 for good causes putting them way ahead of the nearest contenders in Tonbridge, Kent, who raised an average £922 per event, analysis of donations through the site for the past nine months reveals.

Other fundraising hotspots across the UK revealed by Virgin Money Giving were South West London and Chelmsford in Essex which tied on £800 and Aberdeen where fundraisers managed £791.

Virgin Money Giving, the not-for-profit online fundraising site researched the top 50 regions for fundraiser activity.

Examining the data by region, London came top with £833 while North Scotland made it into second place with average amounts raised reaching £707.

Top 50 fundraising towns

Postal Town
Average Amount Raised
1
West London
£1,260
2
Tonbridge
£922
3
South West London
£829
4
Chelmsford
£816
5
Aberdeen
£791
6
North West London
£787
7
Stevenage
£757
8
North London
£704
9
Milton Keynes
£691
10
Inverness
£683
11
East London
£655
12
Dartford
£643
13
Enfield
£642
14
St Albans
£637
15
South East London
£630
16
Watford
£626
17
Isle of Man
£619
18
Kingston upon Thames
£615
19
Sutton
£614
20
Tonbridge (South)
£612
21
Bath
£611
22
Peterborough
£609
23
Bromley
£605
24
Guildford
£588
25
Ilford
£580
26
Twickenham
£571
27
Croyden
£566
28
Shrewsbury
£560
29
Lancaster
£553
30
West Central London
£525
31
Motherwell
£523
32
Reading
£522
33
Guernsey
£518
34
Harrow
£513
35
Redhill
£506
36
Chelmsford
£504
37
City of London
£493
38
Colchester
£487
39
Stevenage
£486
40
Leeds
£485
41
Ipswich
£485
42
Southend on Sea
£485
43
Kirkcaldy
£476
44
Slough
£472
45
Gloucester
£469
46
Cambridge
£467
47
Nottingham
£467
48
Bournemouth
£456
49
Jersey
£455
50
Chester
£454

Breaking down donations within the capital, fundraisers in West London raised the most, averaging £1,260 while those in the City of London came bottom of the capital rankings, raising £493.

Grant Bather, spokesman at Virgin Money Giving, said: “Fundraising is essential to many charities’ existence and it is good to see that so many people are committed to raising money.

“London, with over six million people, and as host city to the largest annual fundraising event in the world – the Virgin London Marathon – understandably fared well but other large cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds saw average money raised in the £200-£400 bracket.

“However much fundraisers manage to raise, by using Virgin Money Giving, more money can reach the charity.”

Virgin Money Giving has over 30,000 fundraisers registered, and has seen over £17 million raised since its launch in October 2009.

- ENDS -

To view more of our press releases click here. or for further information visit our press centre.

60 hours of netball breaks Guinness World Record

Published August 26, 2010 Fundraiser Story Leave a Comment
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This weekend two Surrey netball teams set a new world record for the longest ever netball match. The Claygate and New Malden Netball Clubs played for 60 hours and scored nearly 5,000 goals between them, with team purple overcoming the blues by 2,440 to 2,381.

The 24 tired but exhilarated girls finished playing at 7pm on Sunday evening, having started at 7am the Friday before. Equivalent to completing six marathons back to back, this was an incredible endurance test for each player both physically and mentally. With only 14 on court at any one time, the girls could rotate on and off at set intervals but no one could leave the courtside for more than five minutes at any point during the attempt.

The reason for taking on the world record was to celebrate the return to court of one of their players, Debbie Middleton, after her recovery from cancer last year.

“On 15th August 2008, at the age of 32, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma which having previously been a fit and healthy person was a bit of a shock. However, I was lucky enough to be treated at the amazing hospital that is The Royal Marsden.

In April 2009, I was given the all clear and decided I wanted to give something back to the place where I had received such excellent care. Netball has always been an important part of my life, even whilst I was ill. In fact it kept me going sometimes. I still went down to support my team, Claygate, even playing a little bit when I was feeling strong enough.

When I suggested breaking the world record for the longest netball match to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign the girls were right behind me – although some might be a little less enthusiastic now!”

Not only did the girls finish on a high and break a world record, they’ve also raised over £51,000 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.

You can still make a donation to their Virgin Money Giving page and there are more pictures on their facebook page. The girls also take their rightful place on the Virgin Money Giving Guinness World Records wall of fame.

If you’re attempting a World Record and fundraising with Virgin Money Giving we’d love to hear from you, email mystory@virginmoneygiving.com

Blazing the road to victory

Published August 24, 2010 Fundraiser Story Leave a Comment
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A team of four friends have hit the road to kick-start their fundraising for The Sick Children’s Trust ahead of their real roadtrip next month. ‘Team 777′, made up of Kevin Blazer, Nigel Death, Jem Walters and Paul Guzewich from Norwich will be attempting to drive from the UK to Rimini in Northern Italy in September as part of the Scally Rally event. With a route that includes the Alps this is no mean feat.

In order to help the team prepare for this epic 1200 mile journey, they are embarking on a roadshow around Norwich to try and secure sponsorship from local companies and help raise money towards their target goal of £1,500 for the The Sick Children’s Trust.

The group of friends are raising money for the charity after Kevin Blazer used its ‘Home from Home’, Acorn House in Cambridge.

In 2005 Kevin’s six week old son, Finn (sat on the car bonnet above), was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive children’s cancer. He required specialist treatment only available in Addenbrookes Hospital which was 70 miles from their home. Needless to say this was a highly distressing time for their family, it would have been even more stressful if it wasn’t for The Sick Children’s Trust. The charity provided the family with a place to stay while Finn was being treated, allowing them to remain together as a family.

You can support ‘Team 777′ through their Virgin Money Giving page and you can also follow their progress on their blog and twitter feed.

Best of luck guys!

If you’ve got a fundraising story you’d like us to feature drop us an email on mystory@virginmoneygiving.com

11 mile kayaking along the south coast…and that’s just the first challenge

Published August 17, 2010 Fundraiser Story Leave a Comment
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A group of friends from Torbay have just completed an 11 mile kayak trip raising money for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. But that’s just the start…

Over the next 12 months the team plan to take on a whole series of events including:

  • Cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End,
  • Walking Hadrian’s wall,
  • The Plymouth Triathlon,
  • The National 3 peaks challenge,
  • The 24 peaks challenge in the Lake district,
  • The 70k Challenge Ride from Honiton to Teignmouth,
  • Cycling from London to Paris,
  • The Suffolk whole hog,
  • A 3K swim,
  • The Great West Run,
  • Plymouth Half Marathon,
  • The Ben Nevis Challenge,
  • The Torbay Half Marathon,
  • The Asics 10K,
  • A banger rally across Europe.

And as well as the challenges they’re also organising a charity fashion show, and a track day.

They’re doing all of these challenges in memory of their friend Bertie Brookman. Bertie suffered with Muscular Dystrophy from birth and sadly passing away in April 2010 at the age of 23. So far they’ve raised over £2000 but it’s just the beginning.

You can find out more about their challenges on their website bertie23.co.uk or on their facebook page, and you can support them by making a donation through their Virgin Money Giving page.

Good luck guys!

Charity places available in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

Published August 12, 2010 Events Leave a Comment
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Public places for the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon sold out in record time this year. If you’d still like to run in this years race on 10 October 2010, there are places still available.

The charities listed below all have places available; so if you’d like to run just choose one of the charities and follow the links to find out more details. You can use the email addresses and phone numbers to contact them directly to register.

Once you’ve got your place, don’t forget to create your Virgin Money Giving fundraising page. You can setup a sponsorship page in just a few minutes, and send link sent round to all your friends and family.

It’s that easy!

Continue reading ‘Charity places available in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon’

Making the great runs £1 million greater

Published August 5, 2010 Press Releases Leave a Comment
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Charities will be Great Run winners online, says Virgin Money Giving

Charity fundraisers taking part in the Great North Run and other Great Run events this year could raise close to £30 million if they go online to organise their fundraising, according to Virgin Money Giving.

Last year the Great Run Series of events, which includes the Great North and South Runs and the Great Yorkshire, Manchester and Edinburgh races, raised over £28 million for good causes*.

But if fundraisers were to raise the same amount this year on Virgin Money Giving, at least another £1 million would make its way to charity.

Assuming an average donation of £24, with Gift Aid uptake at 87% of total donations, the £28 million raised last year would be boosted to £29.06 million if fundraisers were to use Virgin Money Giving.

Grant Bather, spokesman at Virgin Money Giving, said: “The Great Run series of events raise considerable funds for charity.

“Every penny counts for charities and with Virgin Money Giving, more money will make its way to good causes, with £12.46 going to charity for every £10 donated.”

Virgin Money Giving recently passed the £16 million barrier and has over 1,500 charities signed up and over 31,000 fundraisers.

virginmoneygiving.com is the official sponsorship website of the Virgin London Marathon, Royal Parks Half Marathon and ‘Run to the Beat’.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

http://www.greatrun.org/charities/default.aspx

To view more of our press releases click here. or for further information visit our press centre.

Generous Britons keep on giving despite economic squeeze

Published July 29, 2010 Press Releases Leave a Comment
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Virgin Money Giving launches Charity Donations Index

Average charity donations are recovering as fundraisers and donors remain committed to backing good causes despite the current economic squeeze, new research from Virgin Money Giving shows.

Analysis of donations through the not-for-profit online fundraising site shows the average amount given rose to £31.24 in June compared with £30.59 in April and £29.29 in May 2010.

Its research shows average donations – before Gift Aid which adds 28% to money given by eligible UK taxpayers – peaked at Christmas before gradually declining from the £35.69 in December to a low in May.

However June showed a recovery in average donations compared with April -when the Virgin London Marathon meant a surge in donations across the site – and May. Average donations were 6.6% up in June compared with May.

Jo Barnett, executive director of Virgin Money Giving said: “The current state of the economy means something’s got to give but so far charity giving is holding up well. People remain generous despite impending tax rises and threats of rising unemployment and public sector cutbacks.

“However average donations are under strain as people struggle to make ends meet and it is vital that fundraisers, charities and donors boost their giving power by making full use of Gift Aid and efficient fundraising.”

Virgin Money Giving figures show that while over £5 million was donated in April through virginmoneygiving.com, during the lead up to the Virgin London Marathon, around £1.5 million was donated to non-marathon related fundraising causes.

Donors using the site can instantly add Gift Aid to the money they are giving – Virgin Money Giving currently sees 86% of all donations submitted claiming Gift Aid which is more than double the average 40%* for all donations such as collections and through sponsorship forms.

The not-for-profit fundraising service, which charges 2% for donations compared with an industry average of 5% in order to ensure as much money goes to good causes as possible, has launched its Charity Donations Index to help fundraisers and charities monitor how well-off – or badly off – donors feel they are.

It will update every three months giving an up-to-date snapshot of the state of giving across the UK highlighting issues of concern to charities and fundraisers.

Virgin Money Giving currently has more than 1,800 charities registered on the site from a standing start in October with more than 29,000 fundraisers using the site to raise a total of over £15 million.

virginmoneygiving.com, which is free for fundraisers, charges a flat £100 + VAT registration fee for charities and a 2% fee on all donations before Gift Aid which means for every £10 donation, charities will receive £12.46.

- Ends -

Notes to Editors

*UK Giving 2009 study from the Charities Aid Foundation and NCVO.

To view more of our press releases click here. or for further information visit our press centre.

Record breaking fundraisers

Published July 29, 2010 Virgin Money Giving News 1 Comment

Guinness World RecordsWe’ve seen fundraisers taking on some amazing personal challenges on Virgin Money Giving but for some that’s not enough.

As well as setting out to raise money for their favourite charities, some of our fundraisers are raising the bar up a notch by attempting Guinness World Records at the same time.

We’ve hunted down some of the World Records being attempted by fundraisers on Virgin Money Giving.

Virgin Money Giving fundraiser Guinness World Records wall of fame

Record Attempted Fundraisers
Longest journey in a fire engine
In progress 		Steve and a crew of 20 others:

Fundraising page
Website
Longest Netball Game
Record Breaker		 Debbie Middleton and players from Claygate and New Malden Netball clubs

Fundraising page
Most number of people dressed as Sumo
Record Breaker		 gemin-i.org’s Sumo Run
(174 of the 193 sumos fundraised on Virgin Money Giving took part)

Website
World’s longest football match
Record Breaker		 Cambray FC & Cotswold Churches League All Stars

Fundraising page
Website
Tallest costume worn running in a marathon
Record Breaker		 Jean Paul De Lacy – Giraffe

Fundraising page
Tallest costume worn running in a marathon
Attempted 		George Bingham – Angel of the North

Fundraising page
Most runners linked to complete a marathon
Record Breaker		 Team Caterpillar
(34 people) including Princess Beatrice, Holly and Sam Branson.

Fundraising page
 Website

Whether successful or not, attempting a record is no easy task. All the above rightly deserve their place on our Guinness World Record wall of fame.

If you’re thinking of coupling your fundraising event with a world record take a look at the “How do I become a Guinness World Record Holder” guide over on guinnessworldrecords.com and make sure you talk to your charity too. Some charities do not wish to be involved in, dangerous sports or unusual challenges.

Each year lots of Virgin London Marathon runners seem to think the 26.2 miles isn’t quite enough of a challenge, so being the fastest super hero, or wearing the largest outfit adds that extra edge.

Once you have a running number for the 2011 Virgin London Marathon and you think your run may be record-worthy, please contact Guinness World Records as soon as possible by registering your record at guinnessworldrecords.com/virgin and follow the instructions.
Let us know if you’re fundraising while attempting a World Record and we’ll add you to our wall of fame.

Free reporting webinars for charities

Published July 16, 2010 Virgin Money Giving News Leave a Comment
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Virgin Money GivingTo help you get the most out of Virgin Money Giving charity reporting, we’ve set up a series of regular reporting webinars.

Every Friday at 10am Sam from our charity team will be on the phone and online taking questions and showing you around the reporting system. If you’ve just registered with us these webinars will help to get you started, or if you’ve been using charity reporting for some time, we’ll share our top tips and answer any questions you have.

These webinars are available to all our member charities for free.

Webinar details
 Date: Every friday
Time: 10am
Places available each week: 10

To book a place just contact the charity team on theteam@virginmoneygiving.com or call 08456 10 10 45. Once you’re booked onto the reporting webinar we’ll send you out details of the free phone number to dial, and how to connect to webex so you can see the demonstrations.

Webex is an online meeting tool from CISCO that allows you to see Sam’s computer screen. Webex will run on most PC’s and Macs (for full details of system requirements please click here)

We recommend you’re somewhere quiet, free from office distractions and with a full mug of tea or coffee while you’re in the webinar so you can make the most of it. We look forward to hearing from you.

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