�� Children in Need Feed

Fundraising Heroes: putting on a show for Pudsey Bear!

2013-11-13T11:32:38+00:00

Are you excited about �� Children in Need week yet? This Friday 15 November, at 7pm on �� One! To add to our rising excitement, we’ve been out and about throughout the glorious UK looking for fundraising heroes stealing the show for Pudsey Bear!

Two Sundays back, from the direction of Southampton, we could hear what sounded like some very lively fundraising, intermittently interrupted by rapturous applause, and we wondered what sort of strange fundraising was this, to inspire such a loud reaction? Once we inquired we realised that something very special was going in The Mayflower Theatre - a very special �� Children in Need performance by the cast of GHOST: The Musical entitled GHOST is Dancing. We tracked down the manager, Neil, to see just what the cast and crew had been up to:

“In June this year the GHOST: The Musical touring company decided to raise money for �� Children in Need. We decided to do a Strictly Come Dancing event with 12 couples - cast members being paired with our touring crew, to help cast and crew get to know each other. As the months went on, our plans got bigger and bigger! Every member of the company got involved and the Mayflower theatre in Southampton very kindly gave us free use of the theatre on Sunday 3 November. Jason Donovan was one of the first people we approached to help us out and he generously agreed. Nigel Harman was thrilled to be involved and then Sally Taylor from �� South agreed to be our Guest host.

Our crew worked so hard to juggle dancing training around the busy schedule of moving an incredibly complex touring show around the country - in one venue we had three dance studios booked every day to allow all of our 12 couples training time! Members of our cast rehearsed cabaret acts, and our orchestra recorded all the music for us. The week before the show everyone was in every day either rehearsing or putting together the finishing touches.

The cast of GHOST: The Musical show off their Strictly skills!

Then the big night arrived! The dancers performed brilliantly, the guest stars were fantastic and everybody had a brilliant time. The event, now called GHOST is Dancing really seemed to capture the imagination of our Southampton audiences and our collections each day seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. We had an incredible time and our audience was amazing; the whole theatre felt like a massive party. Our fundraising total is now £37,022 - an amount that we never dreamt we could raise and in doing so we now have a really close touring company.”

Ivan De Freitas and Sinead Kennedy wow audiences in GHOST is Dancing!

Everyone in the cast of GHOST: The Musical deserves a massive thank you for their amazing efforts over the last few months, we hope you had an amazing time, and we wish we could have been there on the night; Pudsey has told us it was one of the best shows he’s ever seen – high praise indeed from a Bear who’s got a fair few shows under his belt!

All over the country spotlights have been shining and red curtains have been opening as performers gear up to entertain and enthrall for �� Children in Need. Halloween audiences were treated to a very spooky show from Exit Theatre, a Croydon based non-profit theatre group formed in 2001. ‘Devilish Tales’ told three creepy stories, each written by three Croydon playwrights from the Exit Theatre crew. Audience needed to steel their nerves once the show began, as the Devil himself was hosting the evening! In spite of a few scares (or perhaps becuase of them), it seems like the show was a hit, and the best part of the evening? All profits from the show were donated to �� Children in Need!

It’s showtime for the everyday fundraiser as well as the professional performer - especially for our fundraising heroes in schools up and down the country. We’ve heard that Dreghorn Primary School in North Ayrshire are having a pyjama day and talent show, and students at Kirkwall Grammar School in Orkney have raised an amazing £3195.30 through a variety of fundraising activities including a big spectacular show featuring bush-tucker trials, singing teachers and head shaving. Fantastic work guys, you’ve done Pudsey proud!

If you're putting on a show for Pudsey, tell us all about it! We'd love you to get in touch and tell us about all your fundraising. Simply email your local address on this page, and tag us @��CiN on Twitter and Instagram or @Pudsey Bear on Facebook. Don't forget to use our official hashtags to help us spread the excitement - #bakeit, #pyjamas, #songanddance and, of course, #BeAHero.

If you still haven't decided what you'll be doing to fundraise this year, it's not too late to get involved! A great place to start is by downloading one of our 2013 fundraising packs. You'll be weaving some fundraising magic in no time at all!

Rocks returns!

2013-09-26T08:52:58+00:00

Gary Barlow launches two �� Children in Need star-studded concerts!

Gary Barlow has excelled once again in bringing together some of the biggest names in the music industry to play at this year’s �� Children in Need Rocks concerts!

The world class line-up set to perform at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith so far includes:

On Tuesday 12 November…

Robbie Williams

Dizzee Rascal

Little Mix

And on Wednesday 13 November

Ellie Goulding

Rizzle Kicks

Bastille

Passenger

Further names will also be confirmed in coming weeks and there will also be some surprise legendary artists appearing on the night! We can barely contain ourselves!

Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton will host both nights, which will be combined into one TV programme for broadcast on �� One and �� One HD. Chris says “I am honoured to be hosting the Rocks concerts alongside Fearne. Gary certainly knows how to put on a show, so I think guests and viewers will be in for a very special couple of evenings, a real treat!”

Gary Barlow added “I’m very excited that these incredible artists are giving their time for a special Charity that is close to my heart. This year, �� Children in Need Rocks is going to be bigger and better than ever, doing not one, but two concerts. There are still some great acts we're keeping up our sleeve to announce in the coming weeks and there will be a couple of surprise moments on stage as well. And who knows, I might even get up on stage too.”

Tickets are on sale from 9am today and are priced £100, £75, and £50.

For more details on Rocks including how to buy tickets, visit the Rocks event page.

Family Fun in Northern Ireland

2013-05-14T12:21:51+00:00

This Bank Holiday Monday (27 May) is a date for the diary if you want to have amazing family fun and raise money for �� Children in Need!

The Family Fun Day is in support of �� Children in Need and the event will run from 10am to 6pm at Stormont Estate with the guarantee to give both children and parents a very enjoyable day out. There are a wide range of activities including live entertainment with a Lady Gaga tribute act, amusements, motorcycle displays and sports day activities. There will be numerous trampolines, bouncy castles and even an opportunity to enter your non-pedigree dog in our Scruffts heat. Maybe your dog could follow in the footsteps of crossbreed Becky from Bangor. Becky qualified at last year's Fun Day and went on to make history as the first ever Scruffts winner at Crufts.

The Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson is lending his support and is more than happy to help launch the Fun Day for the second year running.

Speaking about this year’s event this said: “I would encourage families to come along and check out what The Family Fun Day has to offer. Not only is there going to be a huge amount of fun and various activities to enjoy but it is also set in impressive surroundings in Stormont Estate.

“The Family Fun Day really does cater for all ages, there are bouncy castles, egg and spoon races, puppet shows and live entertainment from Hugo Duncan who will be broadcasting his show from the estate. The list of activities is endless and apart from the funfair type attractions, the vast majority of the event's attractions can be enjoyed free of charge so it really does provide a value for money day out.

“Last year's family fun day raised £22,000 and we will be doing all we can to maintain this level of support to a great cause in �� Children in Need. I hope with your help we can make this year’s event even bigger and better and hope you all can come along and enjoy everything the Fun Day has to offer.”

Ronnie McAleese, the Event Director, who makes these fun days happen every year, had this to say: “I am delighted with the way in which this event has grown since the first one was held in 2008. It really is aimed at the whole family and with all the new attractions this year it should be bigger and better than ever.”

You can view the full programme of events taking place at the Family Fun Day by visiting the nidirect website.

(Picture taken by William Cherry (Press Eye))

Fearne Cotton's guest blog: It's �� Children in Need time again!

2012-11-12T18:16:49+00:00

Wow I can’t believe that it’s almost time for the big �� Children in Need appeal night! It can’t be a whole year since the last one, can it?

I’m so looking forward to this year’s big Appeal Night telethon, because we’ve got an incredible star-studded line up for you. Not only are the boys from ONE DIRECTION kicking the whole appeal show off, we’re also going to be joined by the mighty GIRLS ALOUD for their first ever performance of their reunion single “Something New” (which also happens to be this year’s official �� CiN single too!).

Fearne will present �� Children in Need's Appeal Show again this year.

In fact, the musical guests for the show are all amazing – PALOMA FAITH, THE SCRIPT, IL DIVO, LEONA LEWIS, SUSAN BOYLE and TIM MINCHIN will all be performing on the night. A lovely line up I think you'll agree!

It’s not just the music I’m looking forward to. I’ll once again be reunited with the LEGEND that is SIR TERRY WOGAN and the lovely TESS DALY. Working with Sir Wogan is a dream and an honour every year! Also my Radio 1 mate NICK GRIMSHAW will be joining us to help present the last few hours of the show too!

Being a part of the presenting team for �� Children in Need is always a very special thing for me. It’s such an amazing cause, and does such important work right with disadvantaged children throughout the whole of the UK – kids and young people who need our help, and who are right on our doorsteps. I've just been on a visit to see one of the brilliant projects that receives a grant from �� Children in Need, to find out exactly where the money that people give so generously ends up. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Lots of love,

Fearne

How the Post Office is supporting BearFaced

2012-11-06T15:07:37+00:00

I’m Dipti and I work as a customer service advisor at Walthamstow Post Office branch in London.

I love getting involved with �� Children Need. It means a lot to me personally and I really enjoy getting everyone in my branch involved and raising money too. Last year was great fun, we raised a grand total of £1066 and we want to do even better this year!

There’s such buzz going around the branch now it’s appeal time of year. We’re raising money with a smile.. as well as doing our day jobs! With our trusty Pudsey buckets in hand, my manager Darren and I raised £230 last Wednesday. So thank you to our customers who are very generous.

This year is even more exciting with the launch of the brand new BearFaced for �� Children in Need campaign. I’m so proud that Post Office is really getting behind BearFaced and we’ll be the sole retailer of pawprint tattoos. I think it’s a fantastic idea and I’m looking forward to telling our customers all about it and encouraging my colleagues in branch to wear nothing but a pawprint on their cheek on 9 November, or even when they go on sale on 5 November

Model Heidi Klum has gone BearFaced for �� Children in Need

We’re not just selling pawprint tattoos, we also have �� Children in Need wristbands and Pudsey ears. They’re so popular with our customers we’ve had to order more.

I really look forward to being involved in �� Children in Need. It’s such a lot of fun for us in branch and our customers always give generously. I’m really proud to be part of the Post Office effort to support Pudsey!

Dipti Patel

Welcome to our new-look website!

2012-07-19T14:42:07+00:00

Our new groovy pink 'keyline' Pudsey logo

Hi everyone, and a very warm welcome to the brand new �� Children in Need website! It's been quite a few years since the last time the website was revamped, so everyone here at Pudsey Towers in London thought it was high time we gave the site a fresh new look!

We really hope you like the new site. We've put a lot of work into trying to make everything in the new site a lot easier to find, with a much more simplified navigation and a lot more images to brighten the place up too.

We'll be adding to the site over the coming weeks to give you more fundraising inspiration, tools and downloads than ever before! For grant applicants, we hope you find the new section easier to navigate your way through the forms and advice to make applying for your grant easier.

There's also a few areas (such as our SHOP pages) that we'll be launching over the next few weeks as we find out more about the wonderful products that our Partner organisations will be creating for this year's Appeal.We're hoping that the site should be back to its fully-functioning (yet shiny and new!) best by the start of the Olympics, next Friday the 27th July.

And speaking of shiny and new - you're now reading our first Blog Post! This is the page to come to if you want to find out everything that's new in the world of �� Children in Need. On these pages, we'll keep you updated with news about the wonderful Projects we're able to support thanks to your generous donations. We'll let you know about the exciting new fundraising events and activities that are planned for this year. And the best thing about it is that because this is a Blog, you can leave comments and messages for us and we'll do our best to answer them!

It's important that we let you know just how much your support is making a difference right on your doorstep, so please visit the "Who You Help" section of our Fundraising section to meet some of the children we've helped in YOUR region.

We hope you stick with us over this exciting summer and join us this Autumn for the greatest �� Children in Need fundraising campaign ever!

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