Frome teenagers raise £1,352 for children’s hospice

A GROUP of teenagers from Frome are celebrating, following a successful two weeks of  fundraising for the Charlton Farm Children’s Hospice in North Somerset

As part of the National Citizen Service (NCS) course, 13 teenagers aged between 15 and 17 years of age, set out to raise £150 for the children’s hospice, but ended up smashing their target, raising a whopping £1,352.

“It’s crazy! We thought £150 was a push, but on our first day we raised £250 through our Crowdfunding page and by sharing the story on social media,” said team member Rhiannon James.

“£352 was spent on gifts for the children in the hospice and the remaining £1,000 will be given to the hospice to spend on what they want.”

The NCS course spanned four weeks, with the final two weeks focussing on making a change in the community, supported by two NCS team leaders.

“What a journey it has been! Four weeks spent together and today is the final day that we will be in each other’s company,” celebrated the group on their Facebook page.

“It has been an amazing ride and we couldn’t recommend taking part in NCS enough. We have made so many memories that we will cherish, with so many new friends that we will stay in contact with.”

About the final two weeks spent fundraising the group said, “This was a good two weeks because it showed us more about the bigger world around us and gave us independence within a group project.”

The team raised money by shaking buckets on the streets of Frome and Wells,  and by raising awareness on social media and Frome FM. The boys of the group even waxed their legs after surpassing their target.

During their busy two weeks of fundraising for the cause, NCS team leader for the group, Shannon Johnson said, “We are completing the NCS, which is a government-funded project. We have to complete a social action project that enables us as a group to make a change in our local community.

“To make our project achievable we set a goal to raise £150, so that we can buy toys for the children in the hospice.

“We have already excelled our target and would like to keep going, so that we can help the terminally ill children at Charleston Farm Hospice as much as possible. The children at the hospice will benefit massively, because it means that there will be more toys and games for them.

“We also hope that attitudes towards hospices will have changed and the public will be more educated on life in a hospice.”

Towards the end of the group’s campaign, the teenagers paid a visit to the children’s hospice armed with toys, books, DVDs and toiletries for the youngsters.

“We handed over the gifts that we bought yesterday, which the staff were incredibly happy with. This trip has made our entire two weeks worthwhile,” said Rhiannon.

You can look back on the group’s action-packed weeks of fundraising on their Facebook page, search for ‘Say yes to NCS hospice fundraiser’ to find them.