Two schools feed a school
Fundraising ideas for schools in the UK
Two schools feed a school: charity fundraising ideas in action
Two schools in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, have been involved in an amazing cross-community initiative to raise money for Mary’s Meals, and provide daily school meals for children living in the world's poorest communities.
Drumglass High School in Dungannon and St Joseph’s Grammar School in Donaghmore joined forces over the last year to support the Mary’s Meals Feed A School programme. Their joint fundraising campaign exceeded all expectations, raising an outstanding £5,601.32. That is more than enough to feed every child in their nominated school, Mbengwe Primary School in Malawi, every day for a whole school year.
Finding charity fundraising ideas that worked
The two schools tried a mix of charity fundraising ideas, from simple classroom collections to event ideas that brought in the wider community:
- Blue mug collections in form classes
- Mary’s Meals Mondays
- Non-uniform days
- Tuck shops
- Christmas fair stalls
- Easter egg raffles
- Collections at local shops
- Donations in school and online
The generosity of everyone involved has been incredible.
Niall, a Year 9 student from St Joseph’s Grammar School, said: “I felt very good to be able to help young people of my own age. I know how hard it is for me to concentrate on my school work if I am hungry, so it feels good that pupils in Malawi will have a hot meal every day in school thanks to our efforts.”
Why school meals matter
Mary’s Meals works in partnership with local communities in 16 countries to provide hungry children with a daily meal in their place of education. A nutritious meal at school gives hungry children the energy to learn and the chance to gain an education which can be their pathway out of poverty. It is one reason so many schools choose Mary's Meals when they are looking for children’s education charities to support.
It costs just £19.15 to feed a child for a whole school year, which is just 10p per meal. With the incredible friendship and generosity of schools like St Joseph’s and Drumglass, Mary’s Meals can reach even more hungry children with life-changing school meals.
How ‘Feed A School’ works
Feed A School lets you fund a full year of daily school meals for a whole school. Drumglass and St Joseph’s chose Mbengwe Primary School in Malawi, and your school, class or group can do the same in three steps:
- Choose a school from the list on our website. Your fundraising target is the number of children enrolled there multiplied by £19.15, starting from £3,000.
- Plan your fundraising. Try any of the ideas above, or you can ‘Share A School’ and fund meals for 100 children (£1,915) alongside other supporters. To learn more about ‘Share A School’ please contact us on 0800 698 1212 or info@marysmeals.org.
- Keep in touch. You’ll get your own online fundraising page, quarterly update emails and a final report from your chosen school at the end of the year.
Find out more and sign up on the Feed A School page.
Ways to raise money for charity in your school
Looking for fundraising ideas for schools? The ideas above work just as well in primary schools as in secondary schools, and ‘Feed A School’ gives your pupils a real school to raise money for.
Find out more about how to raise money for charity in school with Mary’s Meals.
