Events industry gets behind Hope for Children’s Head Held High appeal
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On Giving Tuesday, a number of events-industry companies and individuals announced their confirmed support for Events for Namuwongo, a philanthropic network of international children’s charity, Hope for Children.
ExCel London, Freeman and GovNet are amongst the latest additions to a growing list of patrons of Hope for Children’s philanthropic network, Events for Namuwongo (EFN), which supports the charity’s work with vulnerable children in the slum of Namuwongo, Uganda.
EFN was established in September 2011 by Events Industry leaders at the Global Event Summit who decided to create an industry cause, with 14 original patrons including tfconnect, Brand Events and the NEC. Up until 23rd December 2017, EFN patrons are getting behind the charity’s Head Held High Appeal by inviting staff to get involved with festive fundraising events or signing up to regular giving.
Hope for Children’s Head Held High appeal is raising funds to improve access to a quality education for vulnerable children in Africa. Every pound personally donated by the public before 23 December 2017 will be matched by the UK Government with UK aid. Funds raised by the Head Held High appeal will transform the lives of at least 1,500 children living in poverty in Ghana & East Africa by ensuring they have access to a quality education.
Funds raised by EFN patrons and supporters will go towards the charity’s education-based projects with children in the community of Namuwongo, Uganda. Activities include the provision of school books and uniforms, as well as more direct support such as food parcels for the most vulnerable children to tackle basic barriers to quality education, such as malnutrition.
The extra income from UK aid match funding will help Hope for Children provide a similar range of activities in northern Ghana including providing school books and uniforms, running teacher training programmes to improve the quality of education available, and community workshops that teach girls about their right to education.
Since it was founded, EFN has raised over £650,000, which has been used to improve the basic living conditions of the estimated 30,000 people in the slum community. Project activities included the building of drains and toilet blocks to improve sanitation, as well as providing basic emergency support to orphans and children from child-headed households.
In this latest phase of support, EFN fundraising will focus on improving access to quality education for some of the most vulnerable children, placing a particular emphasis on increasing the number of girls accessing formal or non-formal education.
Trevor Foley, managing director, tfconnect: “Chris Hughes [MD of Brand Events] and I are very proud of what we’ve achieved collectively as an industry to make such a difference to the people of Namuwongo, but more so, that our Patrons are still so engaged and committed to supporting the ongoing transformation – we’ve had lots of fun along the way too!”
Chris Preston, managing director, Freeman EMEA: “We’re proud to become a patron of Hope for Children’s philanthropic network, Events for Namuwongo (EFN) alongside our industry peers. As part of our partnership we are committing to help raise the profile of the charity amongst the industry through the expertise of our people, as well as raise essential funds for this important charity through a range of fundraising activities and donations.”
Murielle Maupoint, CEO, Hope for Children: “The passion, commitment and love that the events industry has generated, to impact the lives of tens of thousands of people living in some of the worst slum conditions in the world, is simply breath-taking. It is a privilege and an honour to be partners with such an incredible group of philanthropists – everyday people making a massive difference in the everyday lives of those living in Namuwongo.”
