Our February GivenGain Fundraisers of the Month are an incredible group of students from Hatfield Christian School, who raised funds with The Cows for CHOC while doing the Midmar Mile in South Africa in early February. A massive well done to them!

The students took on their swimming challenge for a great cause – raising money to help other children who are facing one of the biggest challenges of them all – fighting cancer. We caught up with them to find out more about their fundraising project.

Why didyou decide to fundraise? 

“As a school we wanted to take part in the Midmar Mile challenge – partly to get our training programme going for the year, but also to build some great team spirit. Swimming for a cause has elevated this event from a fun challenge to an amazing opportunity to give something back to kids who are suffering from cancer. The pupils have loved the experience and were challenged to not only train, but to go out of their comfort zone to raise money for those who can't do so for themselves. Many in the school have been affected by cancer in one way or another, so it is a challenge that is close to home and one that was easy to get behind. The Cows, who are the official fundraisers for CHOC, make it so much fun and the cow print cozzies are coveted by all taking part. Being part of more than 400 swimmers for CHOC was a huge inspiration and made the swim really easy at the end.”

Howhave you experienced fundraising online? 

“The online platform provided by GivenGain makes fundraising so easy! Many people accessed our personal link from their smartphones and were able to give with the click of a button. The admin of thanking people was also very easy with the ability to track who donated.”

What importanttip would you give to other fundraisers? 

“Sign up for a worthy cause that will physicallychallenge you and inspire others to give, because of what you are doing and whyyou are doing it. Then find any way to raise funds. My children each raisedover R2,000 by making brownies and asking friends and family to take them towork for donations going towards this great cause. My team at the office gaveR700 for the one batch of brownies! Sending out frequent messages asking peopleto get behind your effort is also required, and it is especially effective atthe end of the month. Thanking your donors after fundraising is over is a mustto ensure people stay inspired and have a last chance to give if they have notyet done so. Finally, we also had a prize for the top fundraiser which was agood incentive for pupils to try and achieve top honours.”

Congratulations again, Hatfield Christian School students!

Feeling inspired to be our next GivenGain Fundraiser of the Month? Create your own fundraising project here.