Welcome to my first ever blog! My name is Rebecca, I am Fundraising Manager for Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation and I hope over the coming weeks you will gain a great understanding of what we do here, our highs and lows and even get involved and volunteer your services!

I hope to open your mind to the world of charity so firstly I would like to introduce the Foundation and our history. We were born in 2003 to address the need for a national charity to champion the causes of local children’s hospitals and hospices across the UK. We were generously given Wallace & Gromit by Nick Park and the creators to encourage the great work we do and are extremely thankful to them. We have two national fundraisers Wrong Trousers Day and The Great British Tea Party which raise the majority of our donations. Other funds come from corporate sponsors, successful Charity of the Year applications and of course the wonderful personal donations we get everyday. Either from individual fundraising, gifts in kind, leaving a legacy and much more!

We are a very small charity doing big things! There is myself, Marie (Head of Corporate Partnerships), Nicola (Director) and Anna (Finance Director). Only Marie and I are full time so there is never a dull day!

So you are now thinking how can I help? Well firstly, we are always looking for corporate partners so mention us to your CSR team at work or if you think you could help us out occasionally with your expertise whether it’s PR, Marketing, Online, Design, anything really then please get in touch!

If you don’t already know, we will be celebrating 20 YEARS of Wallace & Gromit with The Great British Tea Party between 4th to 14th November! It’s a great fun way to raise money for sick children and chat to your friends / colleagues and family whilst eating some yummy cake so please register at www.wallaceandgromitfoundation.org for your free fantastic fundraising pack now!

Right next week I promise to make less asks! I will be talking about how the credit crunch has shaped the Foundation, a bit more about the projects we fund, where we work, the pros and cons of being a small charity and what ever strange things have happened to us within the week!

Enjoy your week and remember to do something charitable!

Over and out.