FUS End of Year Update
Let’s celebrate some brilliant wins from this year.
We agreed as a new committee, that our priority mission would be to try hard to spread the load a little further and see if we could do it without burdening anybody too much. There’s no doubt that there are still kind souls who throw themselves into carrying much more than they should - but that mission must have been successful for us to have raised a thoroughly whopping sum of money this year.
Still with money to come in from:
Ice Lolly Fridays
School Disco
Uniform Sale and
The Garden Show…
…we have totted up a WHOPPING...
£7100
If I can make a suggestion as to how or why we’ve achieved such a large sum, I think it really is because the onus hasn’t been on the small population of parents within Umberleigh School to stump up all the cash. Events for the wider public such as the Jumble, Big Breakfast and the unfailingly successful Bingos, means that with a bit of our time (sometimes a lot of time), we are able to draw in spends from beyond the gates of our little patch.
There have been a number of newer ‘both feet in’ parents joining the fray and they have made a really heartening difference - Grace’s Mothers’ Day event was just lovely and last night’s Disco was a really fun and wholesome event. I also feel that through donations and word-spreading, general pestering and attending events, there has been a fabulous increase in the percentage of families getting involved in one way or another. So thank you.
The events that have raised money this year are
Jumble
Wreath Making
Big breakfast
Christmas Hamper Raffle
Lego Club
Chrostmas Bingo
Mothers Day gifts
Easter bingo
Sports day refreshments (eurgh the weather…)
Plus the yet-to-come events above.
But we mustn’t overlook the £1500 donated to us by Umberleigh Village Hall from the Antiques Fair and the Panto. UVH have their own challenges and fund raising needs so these are generous contributions and I want to make sure that we earn them by being good partners.
We won’t be taking part in Antiques Fairs anymore - we suggested that these were particularly difficult for our young families to be part of due to the weekend commitment and general child-unfriendliness of breakables. But I would like to make sure we make a concerted effort to help promote all of their events and we’re already gearing up for a much greater involvement in the Garden Show this year which is their main fundraiser.
FUS also bought tickets for the puppet show earlier in the year with the main aim of supporting UVH's plans to engage more with Beaford and other external events as a source of income. Let’s keep this up.
Briefly, our spends this year have been:
Christmas gifts
VR Day
Scribbleton
Puppet Theatre Show
Eden Project transport
Brumbles Play Equipment
Leavers’ Hoodies
Bristol trip transport
Sports Day medals
Air con
Total spend £3500 (ish - I'm writing this fast to go int he newsletter and I don't have the exact figure)!
We’re still waiting to pay for the outdoor area which will be £4500 but at this moment, we have a ridiculous £13,000 in the pot which means still £8500 after we’ve paid for that outdoor area.
There’s something to pause on here. We are showing that we are able to raise really impactful sums of money and I would like to suggest that as well as continuing to support the normal yearly events like transport for trips and other experiences, that maybe we think about whether there are more meaningful, legacy projects that we could work on with - and for - school.
Let’s not wait for meetings to put the ideas out there. The meetings are a great time to vote on the proposals, drink wine and then to work out HOW to get the money.
A huge thank you to Sarah, Jenni and Janette who are a sterling team of get-shizzle-done women. A good team is so key and they make everything feel possible.
So with that in mind, I’m excited to begin the next year of badgering and delegating and I can’t help feeling competitive, so let’s see what we can achieve next year.
Thank you so very much for getting involved. What a team.
Helena Mellows
FUS Chairperson
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