TFM Radio & Magic 1170’s
Cash for Kids Children’s Charity
January 2010

It has been another outstanding year for Cash for Kids Children’s Charity. Our vision is to make a significant difference to the sick, disabled and deprived children in Tees Valley, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Last year was the most successful year to date raising nearly £700,000 I am sure you will agree that this is a truly amazing amount, especially given the current financial situation.  The total number of children helped throughout 2009 was over to 26,000. The funding purchased specialist trikes, sensory equipment, helmet therapy, special laptops, outdoor exercise equipment, starter packs for homeless children, holistic programmes and many more to meet the children’s needs.

Every penny we raise stays within the local area and we are unique in the fact that we also help other children’s charities and groups too. We supported the following in 2009; Children’s Bereavement Service - Teesside Hospice, Outreach Programme – Barnardos SECOS, Pilot Programme - EVA Women’s Aid, Supported Living Project – Gainford House, as well as many local special needs schools and other organisations. We can reassure you that we do not sit on the money raised. The funds are allocated throughout the year by our panel of Trustees.

At a time of global recession, charity is usually the first thing to go. So as you can imagine last year had its challenges. With hard work, innovative ideas, drive and determination we have had the most rewarding year to date. However, we couldn’t have done this without the support of local companies and people like you.

In 2009 we tried to turn the negatives of a recession into positive new fundraising initiatives such as 5 Brides 1 Wedding. We narrowed 600 applicants down to just five who battled it out to win a wedding package worth £25,000. The couples raised almost £40,000 in just one week. We held the first Cash for Kids Celebrity Football Match at the Riverside Stadium with a crowd of around 6,000 spectators and of course Build a Dream which raised £45,000 in just two weeks to build a Sensory Play Room for Daisy Chain. We also supported 10,000 local deprived children with summer activities that included; theatre tickets, cinema, bowling, swimming, paintballing, aquariums, animal farms and many more. We also worked in partnership with Barclaycard to award £30,000 to local charities, groups and schools that work with disadvantaged children.

By the end of 2009, we raised nearly £700,000 and helped over 26,000 local children. I am sure you will agree, this makes a massive impact on the local community. We have also been able to support some very hard hitting causes this year such as sexually exploited children, homeless teenagers and children affected by various forms of abuse.

The campaign we are most proud of is the Annual Christmas Appeal, previously known as the Annual Toy Appeal. The campaign is so large that we have to outhouse the project to a large warehouse for six weeks. Christmas 2009 we delivered over £372,000 worth of gifts to 10,902 local deprived children…who were at risk of waking up to nothing on Christmas morning.

In 2008, we won three amazing awards; Bauer Radio Community Award, Co Durham & Tees Valley Children’s Charity of the Year and Overall Charity of the Year. For us, this really does recognise that we are having a substantial effect on the lives of local children that really do need our help.

We are now looking for companies and individuals to support us during 2010 and help us make a significant difference to the area’s most needy children.

For more information about the charity or watch the many videos showing the children we support please visit www.tfmradio.com/cashforkids

Contact: Linsey Wood, 01642 888222 email linsey.wood@tfmradio.com

Thank you to everyone who supports Cash for Kids, together we can make such a difference...