Watford youths show the way in calendar competition
Wednesday 28th November 2007
Eight teenagers from St Mary’s Church, Watford are the youngest entrants by far to a national fundraising competition organised by Ecclesiastical Insurance to have reached the final. And they’ve clearly had such a good time raising money that, having turned £5 into £150, they are now going on to raise £28,000 to fund a trip to South Africa to work with the Church there.
All the finalists feature in a calendar being sent to every church in the country which shares the secrets of their fundraising success that won them a finalists’ place.
The youth group at St Mary’s turned their £5 into over £150 to pay for a Christmas party at a local old people’s home. Karen Thompson, Director of Children’s and Youth Work at St Mary’s said “At first they thought they’d never do it.”
But the group organised a cake morning, washed cars and sold items over the internet. With the money raised they bought food, drink and presents for the event and provided free entertainment.
The biggest lesson for the St Mary’s group was to have faith that they could succeed. “Well, we do believe that everything is possible with God!” added Karen.
Having succeeded in raising £150, they have now gone on to set themselves a target of £28,000 to fund their trip to South Africa. There they will help the church with its mission in the local community, through projects such as caring for children with HIV/AIDS.
And so far they’ve raised £11,000.
The Revd John Aldis, Vicar of St Mary’s, said “I am very proud of our group who were the youngest taking part by far and for picking a project that benefited the community.”
