Children In Need 2023

What is Children In Need?

The brainchild of Mark Patterson (who went on to be the BBC Executive Producer for 9 years), Children in Need is the BBC’s UK Charity. Formed in 1980 it has now raised over £1bn for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

To quote the BBC directly:
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"We are committed to being there for children across the UK when they need us the most. Together with the BBC and our partners, we inspire the nation to support this work"
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BBC Children in Need is there to make sure that every child has the childhood they deserve – and the support they need to thrive.

They fund the grassroots organisations and project workers across the UK that provide the vital positive relationships children need to help them navigate the challenges in their lives as well as funding thousands of charities and projects in every corner of the UK, that support children and young people to feel and be safer, have improved mental health and wellbeing, form better, more positive relationships and be given more equal opportunities to flourish. 

The primary source of the funds they raise comes at the annual Children in Need televised event that attracts up to 7 million viewers and raises many millions of pounds in one night, with the record currently sitting at £50.6m!

Characterised by the official mascot ‘Pudsey the Bear’, who made his first appearance in 1985, the addition of this loveable figurehead to the campaign revolutionised the image and appeal of Children In Need.

What do people do for Children in Need? 

This year the live show will be hosted by Ade Adepitan MBE, Mel Giedroyc, Chris Ramsey, Alex Scott and comedian Jason Manford.

The content of the live show is yet to be revealed but the theme is SPOTacular - meaning absolutely anything and everything you do for Children in Need should be spotty - wear spots, paint spots, bake spots or simply feel SPOTacular!

In addition, DIY SOS have got involved, taking on one of their biggest challenges yet when they will build a brand new home for Leeds-based Children in Need funded project, Getaway Girls. 

DIY SOS Children in Need 2022 will see Nick Knowles and his trusty team of Chris, Jules, Billy & designer Gabrielle Blackman joined by BBC Radio 2 presenters, who will don their steel toe capped boots, high viz and hard hats to help make a difference. They’ll be joined by an army of volunteers to create the charity’s new building – from the ground up – in just nine days.

Countryfile are playing their part too, with the 'Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need' making a return!

Arrange a ramble, buy a Children in Need bobble hat (get one from here) and contribute to the cause whilst enjoying the best that the UK has to offer in scenery and fresh air (and let’s be honest, at least a little bit of rain)!

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Looking for an easy way for people to pay into the ramble fund? Look no further than Collctiv. Download the app for free from here, create a pot and then share the link on Whatsapp, Facebook, by email….basically however you’re speaking to your group to arrange the ramble.

All they need to do is click on the link, put in their card details (or use ApplePay or GooglePay if they have it set up) and in 10 seconds your Ramble for Children in Need pot has their money in it. They don’t need to download the app, create and account or do any banking. It couldn’t be easier!

What can I do for Children In Need?

If you want to get involved in something other than the official events outlined above, there’s no end of fundraising ideas. Check out the Children In Need website for a big list of things you can do, or alternatively let me list some of the main ones for you right here:

What can kids do for Children in Need?

Why not turn their hobby into a challenge? Whether they cycle, do gymnastics, play football, rugby, golf, cricket, go swimming or play hockey, get them to set themselves a challenge at it and then get people to sponsor them to do it.

You might choose to cycle as far as a marathon, keep an exercise bike going for a whole 24 hours, do 100 cartwheels in an hour, keepy-ups non-stop for 30 minutes, pass the ball without dropping it over 200 times in rugby, play 3 rounds of golf in one day, have a sponsored cricket-a-thon when you play until a team reaches 500 runs, swim a mile or a sponsored kit-on/kit-off for your hockey goalkeeper to see how many times they can get changed in 15 minutes!

The options are endless, but the key is raising money. Remember any money makes a difference. Maximise your donations by making it super easy for people to give to the cause. Download Collctiv and start collecting money today!

What can I do in work for Children In Need?

A bake sale

Everyone’s favourite and a winner for the office. Get everyone to make something spotty and then have a sugar-filled afternoon of cake buying and eating….with all proceeds going to the Children in Need campaign.

Simply download the Collctiv app and when you create a pot, you will get an automatically generated link AND QR Code - perfect for attaching to the bake sale table so punters can simply scan and pay! 

A pyjama day

Why not make Friday 18th November pyjama day at work? Get everyone to pay in  £1 or £2 and let them come to work in their PJs and slippers! Better still, get them to paint spots on their faces (maybe that needs to be an extra £1!)

Again, you can have the QR code on your phone for them to scan, have it printed and up on the wall on the way in to work or send the payment link via email or slack or however you chat as an office!

Is there a good way to collect money for Children in Need in school?

Are you a parent? A class rep? Or maybe you are the driving force behind the parent Whatsapp group?

Either way you can pretty much guarantee that school will be doing an odd socks day, a ‘paint spots on your kid’ day or own clothes day for Children in Need, for which you’ll need the lesser-spotted 1 or 2 pound coin.

That probably means going to the cashpoint, then buying something from the shop to get the aforementioned coins, which are all-but extinct now in a post-Covid world.

So here’s an alternative….why not download Collctiv, create a pot and share it in the Whatsapp group. That way every parent can pay in their £1, there’s even a comments box for them to confirm which child or children they are paying for, and then you can simply give the money as a whole to the school!

So much easier than 30 parents having the same last-minute mission for change and because it’s so easy you will raise more for an awesome cause!

Organisers bring people together

Since 2019 Collctiv has helped over 400,000 people from 83 countries come together by making it simple for Organisers to collect money from groups. Whether it's gifts for teachers, group holidays or grassroots sports teams - download our free app today and start bringing people together!