Our Magical Christmas Fundraiser

Barnstondale Centre launches affordable family Christmas event, with the aim of raising money for Disadvantaged Children.  

In December 2022 we joined in on the festivities to raise money for our Bursary Scheme, and we want to thank you for your support.

As your local children's charity, we offer a range of outdoor activities for all and are the only outdoor activity centre that can facilitate residential stays for children with disabilities. Our aim is to ensure that all children have an equal opportunity to accessing outdoor adventure, regardless of their background. It is for this reason that we offer a bursary scheme to ensure that disadvantaged children are supported financially to access our facilities.

Following the COVID 19 Pandemic and the onset Cost of Living Crisis, we found that requests for our Bursary Scheme has increased by 300%, a scheme that subsidises young people’s fees to the facility by up to 50% to encourage access for all. Children who are eligible for free school meals, from low-income families or have special educational needs are funded on request.

The reason for doing the event was to raise the funds to support this increased demand. In the last 12 months we have found that children who fall outside of the typical categories above, are also requesting financial support, due to challenges onset by the cost of living crisis. 

Jon Muspratt, the Charities CEO, commented, “For some Children this may be their first experience of staying away from home, their first out of city experience, exploring the woodland with their friends. At Barnstondale we’re committed to ensuring children from all walks of life have the chance to be children, with no barriers to accessing outdoor education and all the benefits it has to offer.”  

This year we strive to ensure all children have access to our Bursary Scheme and with your support we are closer to being able to do just that. In December 2022, our Magical Christmas event invited generations of families that have made lifelong memories with us, to fundraise whilst celebrating all the best bits of Christmas.  

Our team hosted 19 evening events with the support of 7 local musicians and choirs. We welcomed over 2,300 visitors on site, built a great rapport with local businesses, publishers and radio stations. We were able to entertain 1,500 children with creative art materials donated by local supermarkets, inclusing Tesco's in Heswall and Bromborough Asda, with the help of their charity champions and we were supported by our local bookstore Lingham Booksellers, who helped us provide a valuable grotto prize from Santa.

Whilst we didn't turnover a profit, it was the first year of our event and we loved inviting in a new audience of people, welcoming in the people of our local community to celebrate Christmas with us and create long lasting memories.

We want to thank you for your support if you did attend our first Magical Christmas fundraising event and we are looking forward to welcoming you back to our Magical Christmas fundraiser in 2023 - so please help us spread the word and raise vital funds!