Save the Children - Spring Challenge: Make your impact bloom
Organised by Save the ChildrenLeap into action this spring, and fundraise for Save the Children
Story
Take on a fundraising challenge this spring, and raise vital funds for children.
All you need to do is decide how you're going to do it, set up a fundraising page by clicking 'start fundraising' and all the money you raise will be used to help create lasting change for children in the UK and around the world - it couldn't be easier!
Sign up now and we'll be there to support you every step of the way.
Whether you decide to do a walking challenge, a marathon or something a little less physically demanding like a bake sale or a quiz - we've got you covered with inspiration to get your fundraising off to a flying start.
And if you want to get kids involved, which we'd love by the way - click here for some ideas.
And if you want to come up with your own idea, we encourage that too! Visit our website for more information.
Why your fundraising matters
Everything is connected. No one knows that better than Alison, a mother of six from Malaita in the Solomon Islands. The photo on this page is of Lucy, who is Alison's daughter.
Her country is a microcosm for climate change. Increasingly ferocious winds and rains have wrecked the mangroves that always acted as a natural buffer for the islands. Now the cyclones and sea water make their way inland uninhibited, flattening homes and killing the garden crops that so many Solomon Islanders rely on for food and money.
“When I was just married into this family a strong wind blew down all the houses in our area. Our own home was blown down too,” remembers Alison. “We escaped with only the clothes on our back.”
It's an existential threat for Alison, her children, and the future of their country - one that short term help like food aid won’t solve.
“I do not want my children to have to experience this again. I want to protect them from that.”
Save the Children is working hand in hand with communities to take on climate change through connections of our own. In collaboration with a local partner, our Nature Based Solutions project aims to restore protective ecosystems like mangroves, and help families diversify their income away from farming. That’s why Alison is part of a group of women and young people training to keep bees.
Bees love mangroves, which provide a perfect haven. In turn, they pollinate the mangroves, helping them grow. The mangroves then protect the islands – along with wildlife and food sources like fish and crabs - from storms and high tides. They even store carbon deposits that don’t make their way into the atmosphere, effectively slowing climate change globally.
And all the while, the bees produce sweet honey for community farmers to sell.
“With honeybee training I know if I do it well, I am able to earn money for my family,” says Alison. “For 1 kilo it is $200, and I can produce up to $4,000, so I am like "Wow".”
With that money, Alison can pay for her children’s school fees, giving them opportunities to thrive. She can make sure they’re well fed too – even when heavy rain inevitably affects her garden in future.
We can’t stop climate change. But by thinking differently, and making connections like these, we can help families adapt and stay safe through the storms ahead.