Introducing: the DS Achieve

‘Choose Your Challenge’

summer Family Fundraiser!

At DS Achieve, we work hard to secure funding for our services through grant applications to a wide variety of providers. This isn’t easy to do and for the first time, we need your help to get essential funding to continue providing our services...

This is where you come in!

We are asking families in our community to help us. If you have used our services, or know someone who has, and you think they offer benefit to children/young people with Down Syndrome and their families, we need your support.

This summer, we’d like you to join us in taking on a small challenge to help raise funds for DS Achieve. Whatever your interests or abilities, you can choose an activity or event that suits you and join the DS Achieve community in raising funds to ensure we can keep delivering our services for the next academic year and beyond.

Whether you're a baking enthusiast, a bookworm, a running addict, or a trivia master, there's a challenge for you! From bake sales to readathons, sponsored runs to quiz nights, talent shows to birthday fundraisers, sponsored silences to movie nights, the only limit is your imagination.

Whatever you choose and however much you raise, you will make a difference - every penny of our funding goes to delivery of our vital services to enable children and young people with Down Syndrome to reach their potential, whatever that may be.

How to take part:

• This fundraiser is open to everyone - children, adults, grandparents… the whole family can take part.

• Choose your Challenge! Keep it simple and fun… there are so many ideas to choose from, or create one of your own!

• Join the DS Achieve ‘team’ on JustGiving to create your own fundraising page and ensure your fundraising goes directly into the DS Achieve ‘Choose Your Challenge ‘ total. Visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/choose-your-challenge-2024 and select “Start Fundraising” to create your fundraising page!

• Share, share share! Tell everyone you know about your awesome activity and the difference DS Achieve has made to you. Any support they can give, however small, will add up quickly and make a BIG difference!

• Complete your activity and finish your fundraising by Sunday 8th September. We’d love you to send us a photo of you in action!

Every family who takes part will receive a DS Achieve certificate of appreciation and we would love to add your photos (with your consent, of course) to our website and Newsletter to say thank you.

Why take part?

• It costs over £70,000 to deliver our services to the children, families and professionals who need them - that’s a lot of money!

  • £300 buys bespoke support and training for education staff supporting an individual child with Down Syndrome at school. This involves a Resources into School assessment of the child by a Specialist DS Advisor in their school setting, plus follow up resources, training or advice for the teaching professionals working with them

  • £180 buys two hours of private specialist therapy input for children and parents at Little Achievers

  • £80 covers our venue costs for a full week of Young Achievers

  • £50 buys all the table activities and snacks at the DS Achieve annual party (attended by 120 people in Jan this year!).

  • £20 covers a full term’s cost of DS Achieve attending NHS team meetings, to tell them about our services and to reach more families

  • £5 buys a week’s worth of biscuits, tea and coffee for parents who bring their young children with DS to Little Achievers

    
    

• Without the help and support from all our wonderful fundraisers and supporters, we wouldn’t be able to continue supporting children and young people with Down Syndrome to reach their individual potential.

• Our services make a huge difference to those who use them, but don’t just take our word for it; why not check out the feedback we receive and see how your support can benefit children and young people with Down Syndrome.

• Cake sale

• Readathon

• Danceathon

• Sponsored walk / hike

• Sponsored run

• Selling home made craft items

• Wine tasting night

• Charity / Car boot sale

• Host a quiz / bingo

• Dress up day at work

• Sports challenge / sports day

• Coffee morning or BBQ

• Treasure hunt

There are so many more ideas that we haven’t yet listed! If you need any help, we’d love to hear from you, so please get in touch by emailing: info@dsachieve.org