The year so far

So we have made it through another six months and things are still going strong. Here is a quick summary of all that we have been up to.

Playground Partnerships

In April 2010 we held our final judging sessions to decide which schools would win a grant for their school playground this year. We are delighted to say that even though our prize fund was significantly lower than in previous years we still had over 1600 schools register to take part. The standard of work and feedback from those taking part never ceases to amaze us, in fact it is what keeps us going. This year we trialled our new junior judging panel which was made up of four children from last year's winning schools. After the hundreds of applications had been shortlisted and judged by our adult judges, the all girl panel got to decide who won the £8000 prize and also decided on the final ten runners up who each received £1000. The girls really enjoyed having the responsibility of choosing where the money went and made some excellent observations about each applicant. Earlier this month our Director, Gloria and Programme Coordinator Lwam headed off to Granby Junior School in Nottingham to announce to the whole school during assembly that they had scooped the top prize. Their screams and yelps could be heard in the next town and we look forward to showing you photos of their playground transformation as it happens. Applications for next year's scheme will re-open in September.

Virgin London Marathon 2010

On 25th April 2010 we had four runners complete the 30th London Marathon and raise over £6k for Kids First Trust in the process. Big special thanks go to Nicole Kavanagh,Chris Meadows, Debbie Hoods and John Finden who all trained and fundraised liked mad things in preparation for the race. Even though the weather had been forecast as very hot luckily the met office got it wrong (again) and the day started with a light shower which cooled everything down a bit. All of our runners finished within 6 hours which is a fantastic achievement and one which the charity very much appreciates.If you would like to take part in next year's London Marathon on Sunday 17th April 2011, please email Debbie@kidsfirsttrust.org for further information.

Gigs First - Our new programme

Gigs First is our newest schools programme aimed at pupils of secondary school age at risk from exclusion. The programme is designed as a cross-curricular programme aimed at 12 - 16yr olds and will be delivered in Pupil Referral Units, Youth Offending Teams and secondary schools to provide a platform for the students to learn new skills. A pilot is being developed ready for launch in September this year. The charity will develop a music toolkit/resource pack for use within PRU's, YOT's and secondary schools across the UK encouraging young people to produce and run their own music event. The toolkit will help provide skills in event management, budgeting, advertising, communication and production. If you have any links with bands, venues or music industry contacts please email us at info@kidsfirsttrust.org. Our latest fundraiser for this scheme was held on the 26th May in London and was a great success. Please look out for details of the next event planned for 9th September.

And finally, we still need you!

We need you to help us raise funds.However much it is will make a huge different to our small but effective charity. Why not bake cakes at home and sell them to your work colleagues, maybe you could organise a local football tournament and charge your mates to enter or how about clearing out some of your old clothes or unwanted presents and selling them on ebay in aid of Kids First? If you can help please do. We have lots of ideas so please call the office on 020 7837 0044 if you think you can help.