Fundraising and Volunteers

 

 

Fundraising

 

We need to raise £70-80,000 each year through fundraising and donations, in order to:

 

• offer the high staff : child ratio so vital for providing the excellent care and support to every child.
• provide all the necessary equipment.
• deliver a wide variety of stimulating activities for the children.

 

MOP is the only special needs nursery in south Buckinghamshire and opens its doors to children with or without an EHC Plan (statement of special educational needs). The EHC Plan is awarded by the Local Authority and is a formal document available for children who have additional educational needs and funds the necessary support alongside any additional resources they may require in an educational setting.

 

However, for children without an EHC Plan, we need to source the funds to provide the care and education for that child. Whilst we encourage parents to seek an EHC Plan for their child (and we can help you with this) , we are happy to place all children and provide the level of support that they require to access all activities in our playgroup.

 

We organise many fundraising events throughout the year, and apply to various trusts and grant-giving bodies. We are also looking to increase support from businesses, either through donations, sponsorships or volunteer time as part of their CSR commitments.

 

All of these activities are providing significant funding, but more funds are needed to cover our costs to maintain our service, purchase new equipment and make improvements to the playgroup.

 

Please see the  News, Events & Information  page for information on some specific fundraising events and our  Donations   page to help us continue with what we do.

 

 

Events and how you can get involved

 

Typical fundraising events that we run include our annual Dinner Dance, Christmas & Spring Fairs, making and selling handmade Christmas cards - order early to avoid disappointment!

 

Parents, staff, friends and family contribute further by hosting themed nights such as our very successful cookery demonstrations and Pudding evenings. Some parents go that extra mile and raise funds by organising and/or taking part in fantastic events such as charity golf days, running a marathon and sky-diving!

 

However, if you don't fancy throwing yourself out of a plane there are still plenty of ways to help. Maybe your skills lie in baking, face painting, or making crafts - in fact anything you would be willing to do or donate for a stall at one of our fairs. Or why not ask your family, friends, colleagues or neighbours to help you?

 

We really appreciate everybody's efforts in organising and participating in our events. However, we also run fundraising initiatives that don't always require people digging into their pockets. For example we have recycled clothes, books, CDs and DVDs collections. Unwanted gifts, small toys and sweets contribute for raffle or tombola prizes - your unwanted items can raise funds too! Maybe you, someone you know or the company you work for could donate something that we could use as a prize, especially for our Dinner Dance auction in the autumn.

 

If you are able to give us a little bit of your time to help organise or run any event - your offer would be much appreciated, and we are always open to ideas for fundraising and grateful for any assistance in this area.

 

Finally, to keep our costs down we are always looking for donations of supplies such as nappies, wipes, tissues, hand towels, tea towels and more. Please speak to a member of staff for a detailed list.

 

 

Trusts and Grant Bodies

 

In 2011 we applied for a Children in Need grant to cover 3 x 1:1 staff over a 3 year period. We received a visit from the One Show's Matt Baker on 23rd February 2012 where a cheque for £28,854 was presented to us, and footage was aired on 26th April 2012.
Matt interviewed our playgroup leader, Jane Gibbons, along with several parents asking them about the impact that the playgroup has had on their children's lives. The children absolutely loved having Pudsey Bear for the morning, and the visit was topped off when Matt then took 3 lucky children for a ride on his rickshaw.

 

The BBC One Show footage of their visit to Marlow Opportunity Playgroup: YouTube Video - may use cookies.

 

 

In November 2015 we were fortunate to receive confirmation of the continuation of this Children in Need grant to take us to 2018. This was great news and we are very grateful to Children in Need for their continued support.

 

 

We also currently receive a grant from Heart of Bucks which helps to support our transport and escort service. This is a service which MOP have historically provided to help families who find it difficult to access the playgroup due to transport difficulties. The taxi and escort is provided by 5 Star Cars who have been associated with MOP for very many years and deliver a fantastic caring service for our children and families.

 

 

Corporate Fundraising

 

No matter how big or small your business, you can help support us in a number of ways such as:

 

• supporting us, a local charity, through your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets.
• employee fundraising.
• organising corporate events to raise money.
• match funding.
• donating a product, skill or time which reduces our costs and enables us to support more families.
• donating prizes for our Dinner Dance auction or raffle, or
• sponsoring the playgroup.

 

We are desperately in need of as much help as we can get, as without meeting our fundraising targets, our playgroup simply can't afford to operate, and the unique and vital service we provide, which our community relies on, will no longer exist. If you would like to get involved in raising money to help continue providing this service to special needs children, please contact Jane Gibbons on marlowopps@btconnect.com.

 

 

Volunteers

 

We have a number of volunteers who help us either directly with the children or by sitting on the committee and undertaking roles such as treasurer, volunteer coordinator and health and safety manager.

 

We rely heavily on people volunteering to help our playgroup thrive so if you are able to get involved, either for for a one-off event or to join the committee, please email Playgroup Leader Jane Gibbons on marlowopps@btconnect.com.

 

We are currently looking for a new Trustee for our Voluntary Management Committee who would also act as secretary for our 6 weekly meetings. Please contact Jane on 01628 521890 or via email marlowopps@btconnect.com if you would like more information.