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Closed 01/11/2023
Friends of Sunnydown

Caterham Cycle Challenge - Couch to 660K 2023

Covid has been difficult for many and as a small maintained Special School, we want to give something back to our community. So we intend on cycling 660km around Kenley to raise money to support local schools with additional mental health provision.
£11,088
raised of £25,000 target
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Closed on 01/11/2023
RCN 1165806

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Story

In May 2023, we will once again be running our Caterham Cycle Challenge. This year it will run from Monday 8th May 2023 to Friday 12th May 2023, slightly earlier than previous years.

As always, our students will be cycling round Kenley Airfield and complete at least 660km in line with the Gibb Challenge - our inspiration for this event. The Gibb Challenge is truly a mountain biking event like no other and involves cycling 660km, as soloist or as part of a team, over 5 days across the remote Kimberly region of Western Australia, along the Gibb River Road.

In May 2023, some of our students will be taking part in the Australian event working as a team to complete the challenge. This event takes place between the 12th and 19th May hence our home event running slightly earlier than usual. Our students are currently working hard to raise as much sponsorship money as they can to cover the cost of the trip along with fundraising for our immensely worthwhile cause. This year, as with last year, we are raising funds to provide additional Mental Health support for schools in the local area.

After the Covid pandemic, nationally more and more people are struggling with everyday activities due to mental health issues and sadly resources are stretched meaning schools are not able to provide as much as they would like as a result. Rather than accepting this, Sunnydown took the opportunity to invest money raised into providing additional support at Sunnydown, but also at primary schools in the CR3 area. In 2022 we successfully raised just over £18,000 which is currently being used to provide a practitioner twice a week at Sunnydown School and once a week at a local Primary. These weekly interventions work on a six week cycle with four students per cycle. They consist of a 45 minute 1:1 session with each student and a practitioner who works closely with the schools Pastoral Team. All feedback is then given back to parents with regards to the progress made during the sessions.

Friends of Sunnydown (FoS) are also thrilled to be able to host their Music festival on Saturday 3rd June to help raise money for the cycle challenge. Last year it was a great success, and FoS are hoping this years will be equally successful. Please click on the link for more details and to buy tickets. www._____________

About the charity

Friends of Sunnydown

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RCN 1165806
Friends of Sunnydown are a fundraising charity. We provide funding for the projects which support the learning that Sunnydown school provides in their transformational teaching methods. Sunnydown School – A special school supporting 89 young men 11-16 years who have Communication and Interaction Needs as a primary need. Sunnydown school is truly a unique place to learn and work; the progress made by our young men, both socially and academically, is nothing short of exceptional, a result of the mutually respectful relationships between students and staff, and supported by the strength of support from our students’ families at home. In essence, our success is our young men themselves, whose developing resilience and emerging belief in their own abilities sees them encouraged, enabled and empowered for a successful life beyond Sunnydown. Our school offers students the opportunity to learn how to access the community as anxiety free as possible. In addition to traditional GCSE's we explicitly teach life skills as part of the curriculum, offering alternative certifications and opportunities such as catering in our Burger Van and Cycle mechanics in our onsite workshop. These transformational experiences enhance the life opportunities for each young man after they leave Sunnydown.

Donation summary

Total raised
£11,087.10
+ £362.00 Gift Aid
Online donations
£3,811.00
Offline donations
£7,276.10
Direct donations
£3,811.00
Donations via fundraisers
£0.00

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