Next year is St Christopher’s 150th birthday. To mark this impressive milestone we are inviting our supporters to get involved by raising a pound for every year that St Christopher’s has been supporting children and young people.

The money raised will either go towards the Isle of Man Support into Employment campaign to support young people to find jobs and learn workplace skills, or towards the UK’s life skills and participation for care leavers campaign.

To help with fundraising, we will be using Crowdfunder. ​On 1 October the campaigns will go live and we will share the links to our Crowdfunder pages which explain each campaign in more detail. From our charity page you will then be able to click the ‘Start Fundraising’ button to create your own individual Crowdfunder fundraising page. All proceeds from the individual pages will go towards the St Christopher’s country specific target.​​

On your individual page you can track how much you have raised and promote what you are doing to raise money. For those of you who like a little competition there is a leaderboard where you can check out how your colleagues are doing.

One of the great things about using Crowdfunder is that not only can you do traditional sponsorship fundraising activities like fun runs, but you can also offer great incentives to your supporters to help you to raise your target through incentivised giving. Please get in touch with our fundraising team to learn more.

To help get you started with your planning, we have come up with some fundraising suggestions to suit a range of skills and interests. There’s something for everyone, from creative minds to adrenaline junkies!

Let’s get physical

• Love to dance? Then why not speak to your local Zumba instructor about hosting a charity Zumba class. Click here to learn more!

Creative minds

• Get creative and host a craft-a-noon. Do you know how to make jewellery or any other products? Why not teach your friends? Or try some clay and cement craft ideas
• Good at designing! Why not create a unique lino cutter design and sell limited edition prints?
• Have access to a potter’s wheel and kiln? Make a range of St Christopher’s charity mugs and offer them as incentives in return for donations
• Get your friends together and make Halloween / Christmas decorations, the money people would have spent buying them can be donated towards your fundraising target
• Eye for art! Why not have a painting party in your garden?​

Domestic gods and goddesses

• Car washing – people are always willing to pay for a car wash!
• Love food? Host a ticketed dinner event for friends as a fun way to raise money for a great cause
• Parents could always use a night off – offer a night’s baby-sitting!
• Love a clean and tidy house? Why not help someone out and be an assistant for a day by tidying their home and charge a fee?
• Do people love your cooking? Create a community cookbook and sell copies to family and friends
• Host a St Christopher’s afternoon tea. Bake scones and cakes and charge per item using these great afternoon tea recipes

​Green-fingered gardeners

• Love spending the day in your garden, offer your gardening services to people in your local area for £20 an hour

​Music maestros

• Any musical skills? Why not pass your expertise on to someone else and teach them to play your instrument?
• Do you and your friends have any singing or performing talents? Why not host an open mic/ talent show?

Involving young minds

• Love to dress up? Paint Halloween make-up on you and your friends faces!
• Remember the sports days from primary school? Re-live them with these fun sports day ideas – but don’t cheat in the egg and spoon race
• Do your friends compliment your hair or make up? Teach them your skills and host a class

Adrenaline junkies

• ​Don’t get scared easily? Test you limits and go abseiling or skydiving in a location near you

Games l​​​​overs

• Love bingo? Why not get all your friends together and play? You could even add a theme people will love, like food bingo
• Do you have a competitive side? Host a board games night and play against your friends
• Karaoke can be a great way to have a laugh and raise some money. Pay a donation to sing and get everyone involved! Use a karaoke mic set up if you have one or just get the lyrics on YouTube
• Are you great at poker? Invite your friends round to play for a prize or a share of the winning. The money used in the game is then donated to St Christopher’s​

Want to challenge yourself and try something different?

• Dog Sledding Challenge – Drive a team of huskies 200km across a beautiful frozen landscape. Difficulty: Moderate
• Lake District Triple Challenge – Experience one incredible day on a Trek, Bike and Kayak at the beautiful Lake District. Difficulty: Challenging
• 3 Peaks Challenge – Climb the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales. Difficulty: Extreme

Socialites

• Got a few ideas of what you could do? Why not host an Auction of Promises and make even more money
• Want a new look? Have a sponsored beard or head shave and get your friends involved
• Got that one outfit that you never have an occasion to wear it to? Have a party and set a Black Tie theme

To donate to St Christopher’s today, click the button below.