Children In Need

Children In Need 2008 took place on Friday, 14 November. It's always a great excuse to get up to lots of silliness and raise money for a good cause.

This year we were asking everyone to Do Something Different, which doesn't mean doing anything difficult, expensive or scary, it just means using your imagination and doing something outside of your normal routine to help us raise money.
And you did!

To see the photographs, return to our Children in Need main page at bbc.co.uk/staffordshire/cin and click on 'Photos'.

Events - and Results!

Stone Rotary & Barclays Bank combined forces to support Children in Need ... Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Stone & District were out before the crack of dawn on Friday 14th November 2008, Children in Need Day, to start their annual collection for the BBC’s Charity at the Traffic Lights in the centre of Stone. They collected cash throughout the day from passing motorists and pedestrians and amassed an amazing total of £2,303
The staff at the local branch of Barclays Bank were kept busy counting the cash - and very generously the Bank agreed to match every pound collected with a pound from their own charitable resources, so overall the Children in Need charity benefited by £4,606….

Once again, Newcastle College smashed its fundraising target and raised a grand total of £1188.34 for Children in Need! It was a fun-packed day and many dressed up as favourite movie stars. Famous characters from ‘Star Wars’, ‘101 Dalmations’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ all appeared in the star studded line up! A big thank you goes out to the Students’ Union! They organised a temporary tattoo stand and the chance to have a picture taken with Pudsey.

All Saints' Toddler Group in Leek held a "Breakfast with Pudsey Bear" and a colouring competition, where they raised £100!

Woodhouse Middle School had a target this year to raise £1200; and Mr Will Rigby who helped organise this year's event said,’ So far we have raised over £1000 and money is still coming in.’ Pupils at Woodhouse dressed differently on Friday, some coming in pyjamas, fairies or in their football kit. At morning break time pupils sold books and cakes, some sold items they had
Also on Friday the children brought in shoeboxes for the annual appeal Operation Christmas child, run by Mrs Butler, head of KS3 English and Mr Rigby Numeracy coordinator. In total the school collected 140 boxes….!

GKradio at Staffordshire University did a 24 hour broadcast for Children In Need.

Lauren, Clare, Charl n Charl from Cheadle and Tean did a 7 mile sponsored walk in fancy dress on Sunday. So far they have raised £620…

1st Aston & Little Stoke Brownies completed a sponsored singathon on Thursday 13 November before finishing with a Pudesy tea party. "We will raise approximately £400….!" they told us.

The children and staff at Oaklands Nursery School and Children's Centre in Porthill are wearing spots and stripes to raise money for Children in Need.

South Cheshire College is fundraising on Friday 14 November 2008.
The theme of this year’s appeal is ‘Do Something Different’ and aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. Students will be turning up at college in fancy dress and key events during the day include a tombola, cake stall and a disco and karaoke. Meanwhile, Entry Level beauty therapy students are doing their bit by providing free hand massaging and nail polishing treatments in Café Chill from 11.30am.

At Stoke College, Simon the Clown was entertaining the children in our nursery at Cauldon Campus with all the children and staff are in fancy dress. Meanwhile Joan Walley M.P was judging a competition at Burslem Campus called “ Junk Animals”- which have been made entirely of household and garden waste ( recycling and the environment with a twist!)

'Ceramic Brass Band' is performing a brass band concert at Splash Landings, Alton Towers on Saturday 8th November at 6pm - and, yes all the players will be performing in the water for this good cause!!
Last year Ceramic Brass Band raised £569.98 for the Children in Need Appeal for this very bizarre performance and the strangest venue we have performed in to date. 

Our Children in need fundraiser day is taking place Saturday November 8th at the Nesbitt Arms in Stafford.
The fun starts at 12pm with a FREE car wash, there's going to be face painting, a bouncy castle, cake stalls, a kid's tombola, guess the number of sweets (c/o Mr Simms sweet shoppe), Name the Rabbit, Circus acts from entertainers Vertical Reality, Indian head & hand massage from Heaven Scent Bliss, Belly dancing (with Annie Day), A Charity football match (Locals from the bar versus The Nesbitt football team), Pool & darts knock out, A Tabletop football tournament, A Thai picture auction and a major raffle ...and loads more...

On Monday 10th November Helen O’Grady Drama Academy students at South Moorlands Leisure Centre in Cheadle took part in special bear-themed lessons to celebrate Pudsey!

All week beginning 10th November all children (and grown ups) attending Jo Jingles music sessions in Stafford will be having a sponsored singalong including singing 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' and 'Mrs Bunny'

During the whole of the week (Monday to Saturday - inc. Friday 14 Nov) all children visiting The Little Gym at Festival Way, Etruria, will forward roll with Pudsey, into their gymnastics classes – with parents making donations for each roll completed. 

21st Hartshill beaver scouts are making pudsey bears face on the scout hall floor out of money that they collected on 13/11/08 at 6.00pm. They are also having a bit of a party after!

At Blackfriars School in Newcastle, we have a number of activities planned for the 14th November but our 2 main activities are, to cover our school in spots (inside and out)! We also have a sponsored walk from our Newcastle under Lyme site to the Bucknall site (around 5 miles). In total we hope to have around 35 people walking!! We have lots of smaller fundraising event happening on the day and we aim to raise more money than ever this year – over £500.on the day.

The Health and Social Care department at Newcastle-under-Lyme College will be starting the Children in Need fundraising early this year as they will be holding a cake sale on Thursday 13 November from 10.00am to 12.00pm. There will also be ‘Guess How Many Sweets are in the Jar’ and ‘Guess the Dog’s Name’ competitions to take part in.

Little Sunshine’s Crèche at Wombourne Leisure Centre is opening its doors on every Friday evening in November. The session on 14th November will include activities to support Children in Need.

The Annual "Pudsey Party" - On Friday 14th November at 7.30pm at Weston Village Hall
Two fantastic live bands, licensed bar, raffle, over 3 hours of fantastic live music featuring the wonderful "Sick Squid" playing hits from the 60's! And the Fabulous and ever popular Arthur Docherty Band (A sort of Folk band).
A great night - last year we raised £1,700.
Tickets now on sale – last year was a total sell out – please buy early - Ticket hotline 01889 270 513 or Email tigger.sound@virgin.net

Chance Sisters are an all-sister girl band who are visiting all of the BBC radio stations in England in the course of three days, selling autographed T-shirts with the logo ‘Sisters are doing it for the kids’ and collecting funds for the ‘Children in Need’ charity

Hayley tells us that there will be a cakes stall at Picknalls First School, Uttoxeter from 3.15 onward

On Nov 14th, Hanley Specsavers are having a fun day. There will be tombola, name the doll and other activities. Some of the staff will be dressing up as well!

Three friends and I from Vodafone are cycling 140 miles on Friday to raise money for children in need. We are cycling from our Holditch office in Chesterton, Newcastle to out main HQ in Newbury, Oxfordshire. The route along the A34 will take us around 9 hours and we will be leaving around 6am - Guy Priest
People can sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/guypriest

On Friday 14th afternoon we are having a 'bring and buy' sale. It is being organised by the ESOL dept. of Stoke-on-Trent College. ESOL students are from all over the world, and are on English courses at our college.

Majestic Owls will be at Asda in Wolstanton, Newcastle on Friday and Saturday collecting for Children in Need. They raised £1600 last year

Children at Happy Tots nurseries in Cannock, Stafford, Tamworth & Wolverhampton are raising money for Children in Need by coming to nursery in fancy dress and undertaking lots of fun activities that Pudsey would be proud of!
The little ones will be raising money and having lots of fun with face painting, yellow jelly play, drawing Pudsey pictures and baking teddy bear shaped cakes and biscuits to raise money for Children in Need. 
And because it’s such a special occasion, everyone at the nursery – children and staff - will be dressing up:
At the Cannock nursery in Orbital Plaza, children and staff are in ‘mismatch’ clothes for the day, wearing weird and wacky clothes that just don’t match!
At the Stafford nursery on Stone Road, children and staff will be wearing their pyjamas!
At the Tamworth nursery on Stoneydelph Lane in Wilnecote children and staff will be wearing pirate and princess outfits!
Some of the children will also be bringing a teddy bear to nursery with them, so they can enjoy a Teddy Bears Picnic lunch.

Members of staff at BBC Stoke are dressing up on the 14th as 'people they could have been'... Plus they are employing a swear box - which is rapidly getting full...

Three of our security guards here at Freeport Talke Outlet Centre have bravely agreed to undergo a public leg waxing to raise money for Children In Need. There will be a treatment/torture table set up in the Main Atrium at Freeport Talke for all to watch the fun at 1pm on Friday 14th November, 2008. There will be leg waxing and beard shaving shenanigans to raise some money for this worthy cause!

A Casino/Race Night being held at the Windmill Pub in Grange Lane, Lichfield on Friday 14th Nov. Aztec Entertainment wil be spinning the roulette wheel and starting the horses with over 50% of the proceeds going to CIN2008. Starts at 7pm

Steven Corden tells us that he and a friend will be walking 15 miles around the Roaches in the Peak District. 

***A big thank you to everyone !!!***