King’s Ely community raises a whopping £34,000 for good causes

A feast of fundraising initiatives has resulted in students, staff, families and friends of King’s Ely topping up a total of £34,000 for the school’s charities of the year.

Over the last 12 months, the King’s Ely community has been doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things to raise money for the school’s two chosen charities for 2018/19 – Cancer Research UK and the Wildlife Trust charity.

An incredible £34,000 has been raised – £10,000 of which is from a Charity Ball organised by a group of King’s Ely parents and which took place in Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel in June.

The rest of the funds – one of the highest totals to date – were raised in a whole host of ways, including non-uniform days, cake sales, sponsored challenges, King’s Ely Junior’s Soapbox Race and the inaugural King’s Ely Colour Dash, to name just a few.

Heidi Connell, senior local fundraising manager for Cancer Research UK, attended the school’s Michaelmas Mid Term Service at the Cathedral on October 18th to receive a cheque for £17,685. The Wildlife Trust charity will be receiving their £17,000 soon.

Mrs Connell said she was “overwhelmed” by the amount raised and said every penny will go towards funding vital research at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute – the charity’s hub closest to King’s Ely.

She said: “The King’s Ely community has fundraised tirelessly over the last 12 months and this amazing contribution will enable Cancer Research UK to carry out more research in the labs, which in turn means better education around prevention and better treatments for those who are sadly diagnosed with cancer. All the money donated by the school will stay local and go directly to our Cambridge Institute. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the overwhelming amount raised and for helping Cancer Research UK work towards their ambition of wanting three in four people to survive cancer by 2034.”

King’s Ely is well-known for its community spirit and fundraising work. Just a couple of days prior to the cheque presentation to Cancer Research UK, a team of Sixth Form girls organised a special green-themed non-uniform day, which raised around £1,000 for Greenpeace UK.

The week previously, the King’s Ely community came together to donate a huge number of items to Ely Foodbank as part of the school’s and the Cathedral’s Harvest Festival celebrations.

The school will be supporting numerous charities this coming academic year, including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Pidley Mountain Rescue Team.

To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit: www.kingsely.org