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The 5 Nation 48 Challenge for ��tv Children in Need

2014-07-18T11:17:48+00:00

On August 1 2014, an all-star football team led by veteran fundraiser Barry Donegan will be embarking on a very unusual challenge. The team will be playing 5 football games… in 5 nations… within a 48 hour time period! It’s all part of The 5 Nations 48 Challenge, the brainchild of Barry and his friend David, all in aid of ��tv Children in Need! It’s not going to be easy, but if they succeed, they could even end up with a Guinness World Record!

However, these aren’t just any football teams – professional footballers and stars from the nation’s favourite soaps are all giving up their time to make the challenge work! Ex-footballers such as Lee Sharpe and Gary Bennett (just two of many) will be taking on soap luminaries such as Nick Pickard and Alan Halsall, all to have a bit of fun and raise a bit of cash.

The Route

It all starts at 6pm on August 1 2014. The first game will be played at Gretna Football club in Scotland. The team will be facing a strong side made up of ex-Carlisle United players.

After this dramatic start the team will then cross the water over to Northern Ireland for their next game at 10am the next morning, taking on a team including Jim Magilton and Stephen Robinson.

A whirlwind day then sees the (by now probably quite tired) team travelling south into Ireland to face off against a team headed by Boyzone's Keith Duffy. Kick off starts at 5pm at Peamount United Football Ground. Keith's put together an all-star team of ex-footballer and celebrities, so this should be a great game to see.

The following morning finds the journeying back over the water to Wales for a challenging game against Pen-y-cae FC, with a kick off at 10am at Pen-y-cae FC's ground.

The fifth and final game pitts a tired but determined team against the 'TV Select; team at Nantwich Town Football Club at 2.30pm. This game matches our charity team against a squad made of players from popular TV soaps. Some of the names confirmed include Danny Miller from Emmerdale, Nick Pickard and Nico Mirallegro from Hollyoaks , Jamie Lomas from Eastenders, and TV favourite Ralph Little.

A photo from Barry's previous star-laden football tournament!

Fancy getting involved, or simply feel like watching the beautiful game? You can help Barry and the gang reach their £20,000 fundraising target just by attending a game at the locations above - all of the games look set to be good fun! Alternatively you can donate a little something to Barry and the boys - you can find their donation page here. Of course, every penny they raise will go towards helping children and young people right here, in the UK. Good luck Barry, and a big thank you from everyone here at Pudsey HQ!

Tommy meets the Tigers

2013-11-14T12:25:49+00:00

I’m fairly street. Well, I think I am? I definitely used to be! You have to be fairly street-smart to get by where I’m from.

Watch Tommy visit the London Tigers

I was raised in East London where drugs and crime surrounded my childhood. Our family home has been burgled seven or eight times, cars broken into and I’ve got a collection of stories about physical and verbal abuse we got on the streets. The people behind all this were young guys… in their teens! Why didn’t I get involved in that crime? I was lucky I guess. I wanted to be different. I joined a basketball club, acted in local drama productions and got into DJing. All of which led me to want to do a degree. But, what if you didn’t have anything else to take you away from bad company? That’s where the London Tigers come in.

I went down to hang out with them one evening. They’re a group dedicated to helping young adults and teenagers from underprivileged areas stay away from crime and drugs on the street. Surprisingly, they’re based in one the most underprivileged areas in the capital: Westminster. It doesn’t sound very “underprivileged” as it’s known to be one of the poshest areas in London! However, we shouldn’t be fooled by what we know about an area, we need to look into what we don’t know about the youth in these areas.

I watched a brilliant film they had made about the dangers of street crime and gangs

Mez, the CEO and founder of the London Tigers was the first to fill me in on the work they do, the challenges they face and his entrepreneurial approach to developing the charity. His office at the community centre is filled with football trophies. It was the love for the great game which brought the kids together. The standard is now so high that the London Tigers have a semi-professional team and are looking into developing their own stadium.

All this came from a charity who were helping young people stay out of trouble. They give them somewhere to come and feel safe, be respected and even somewhere to do their homework. When there, they are supported by inspirational figures such as Jawar (the community centre Project worker) who’s passion and love for the guys is obvious. Jawar told me that the young guys who attend need to feel safe, have fun, get advice and support and make new friends. They can get involved with making their own drama plays, dance productions, even film and edit these too. Jawar’s post is funded by Children In Need and the work he does saves lives, builds futures and creates a fun filled youth. How can you put a price on that?

Here's me with the centre's street dance crew

Hearing stories from the young guys and realising how different life would be for them if they didn’t have this time with the London Tigers is just shocking. In the centre of London, postcode gangs are rife. These young teens are easy prey for bad company and start a life of crime, that can lead to prison or death.

The funny thing is, these youngsters aint “bad boys” or “wannabe gangsters”… they’re incredibly sweet, kind hearted and welcoming individuals who live in an area which wants to kill their potential and takeaway their opportunities. Without the money from Children In Need, Jawar’s post could not be funded. Without his essential work, the young guys would not have anyone to turn to and no doubt fall into the street world.

The London Tigers have expanded to Southhall and Ilford to tap into communities of Asians, Somalians and other minority groups who need a help to stay out of trouble. Their doors are open to anyone.

By donating to Children In Need, you support groups like the London Tigers, that take young lads and put their minds to use. For a few pounds, we can all help to inspire a young mind and help make our local area safer.

Fundraising Heroes: putting on a show for Pudsey Bear!

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

Are you excited about ��tv Children in Need week yet? This Friday 15 November, at 7pm on ��tv 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 ��tv 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 ��tv 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 ��tv 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 ��tv 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 ��tv 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 @��tvCiN 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!

Gary Barlow and Paul Smith design t-shirts and bags for CiN Rocks

2013-10-30T14:36:36+00:00

Two icons of music and fashion have joined forces to create a limited edition t-shirt and tote bag for ��tv Children in Need! Gary Barlow and Paul Smith generously lent their time and talents to come up with something that celebrates ��tv Children in Need Rocks, two star-studded evenings of live music, hosted at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, London. The concert will be hosted by Gary Barlow with appearances from a whole host of amazing performers such as Robbie Williams, Kings of Leon, Bastille, Dizzee Rascal and Ellie Goulding, who will play across 12th and 13th November, before the shows are broadcast on ��tv One on Thursday 14th. Get more information on the concerts and get your tickets before they all go: ��tv Children in Need Rocks .

Gary Barlow wearing the CiN Rocks t-shirt designed by Paul Smith

The t-shirts cost £45 each and the bags cost £25 each. You can get both right here and they are also available in selected Paul Smith shops as well as the concert venue. You’ll have to hurry as just 1,275 t-shirts and 500 bags were made so grab them while you can! Step out in style and #BeAHero by supporting ��tv Children in Need.

Kids 'Tee Up' for ��tv Children in Need!

2012-08-01T12:40:36+00:00

Children from a project funded by ��tv Children in Need have recently become top fashion models, sporting the very latest in designer gear - and it's all to raise more money for ��tv Children in Need!

High Street favourite Debenhams asked fourteen of their top fashion designers and editors to create a brand new range of fun children's t-shirt designs, with all profits from the sales going straight to ��tv Children in Need.

As well as the usual children's wear favourites such as Matthew Williamson and Jasper Conran, Designers at Debenhams; Henry Holland, Sadie Frost, Jemima French, Roksanda Ilincic and Ben de Lisi have also designed tees for little ones.

Kids from Disability Challengers in Surrey became fashion models for the day!

Pop along to your nearest store or buy them online and why not re-pin your favourite from the range via our Pinterest board.

Designer Henry Holland commented: "I am delighted to be involved with his great project - ��tv Children in Need does such hugely important work."

When it came to choosing the young models who would show off the brand new designs, ��tv Children in Need was delighted to put our High Street partner together with kids from one of the projects we support - Disability Challengers Ltd in Surrey.

This project provides a playcentre for disabled children and young people with absolutely any kind of impairment. They run play, youth and young adult schemes so disabled youngsters have access to stimulating and safe play in a specialist sensory environment, helping to enhance their social and communication skills. The project currently benefits more than 300 children each week aged 4 to 12.

Kids from the Disability Challengers project in Surrey became fashion models for the day!

A three year grant of £44,610 from ��tv Children in Need helps Disability Challengers Ltd to pay for a playworker who co-ordinates and helps volunteers working with the scheme to find their way.

The project was thrilled when we asked if some of their children might want to become fashion models for a day.

"Not many children get to take part in a professional photoshoot so it was a really special and exciting day for all of the children from Disability Challengers," said Communications and Fundraising Officer Jessica Klepacz. "Opportunities like this really do help disabled children to grow in confidence and self-esteem, skills which are vital when making friends and having fun as they grow up and challenge their impairments."

And for the parents of the models, it was a fantastic experience too. Emilie, whose son Alex took part in the photoshoot, said: "It makes me so proud of Alex and all the others who were there doing the photo shoot. They do not have easy little lives, so it is lovely to see when they do have big smiles on their faces!"

Hopefully the new range of t-shirts, which are now available in-store in branches of Debenhams, will fly off the shelves and help us to change the lives of more children right across the UK.

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