Fundraising for a cause which matters to you is a great idea in theory but can be daunting, especially if you have no experience and a poorly child to look after. First time fundraiser, Sophie, decided that Big Yellow Friday was the time to give it a go and here she explains why.
Our youngest child, Luna , was born in August 2022 and diagnosed with biliary atresia a few weeks later. In all honesty last year was pretty awful. Luna spent most of it in hospital very poorly which obviously has a huge impact on the whole family. We had found CLDF really helpful – not just as a trusted source of information for us and other family members but knowing that we’re not alone and there are other people out there going through the same. Having first- hand experience of what CLDF offer made me more passionate about doing something positive myself. So we decided that Big Yellow Friday would be a good opportunity to give something back and also to raise awareness for childhood liver disease.
The idea of fundraising was a little daunting at first because we don’t have any experience in this area but we went into it with an open mind and listened to people’s ideas. And once we spoke to family members about the idea, we found that everyone was very keen to pitch in and help out.
We decided to approach my children’s school, my dad’s work and our local branch of Primark in Telford, where my sister works, to see if they would like to join in Big Yellow Friday. I was a bit unsure whether any of them would agree but all three places were very aware of Luna’s story and that was a huge factor. They all wanted to do what they could to help raise funds and awareness so didn’t need much persuading!
Each organisation joined in Big Yellow Friday in their own way – Primark did a raffle, the school did a Wear Yelllow Day and my dad’s work, Kuehne & Nagel, had a collection across several sites. They all got the information they needed from the Big Yellow Friday website and when we needed collection buckets, CLDF just sent them out so there really wasn’t loads for me to do from that point of view.
I was very keen to raise awareness as well as funds but again this is not something I’ve ever tried to do . I decided to email the Shropshire Star. I wasn’t even sure I would get a reply so was extremely surprised that they emailed back and not only wanted to know what Big Yellow Friday was about but they also wanted to know Luna’s story. I was so grateful that they did a big write up in the newspaper, on their social media feed and included a link for anyone that wanted to donate.
On the day itself, we took plenty of pictures of the children in yellow and took Luna into Primark so she could be the celebrity guest when the raffle was drawn!
Now that all the money has been counted, we know that Primark raised £905, my children’s school raised £226 and my dad’s work raised £642. That’s £1773 in total and I feel extremely shocked and proud at how well our fundraising went. We really had no idea what to expect but we wanted to give it a good go and we’re thrilled to have got this support. All three places have already agreed to join in again next year and all want to do it bigger and better so I’m excited for that.
I’d say to anyone else who is nervously thinking about joining in with Big Yellow Friday or any other fundraising just go for it! Do some research, put the feelers out to businesses and schools and just ask the question. The fundraising packs are a real help – you just hand them out and then people have all the information they need. If you have a connection with a child with liver disease you will be surprised how many people want to join in and help you – so don’t be afraid to ask!
