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There are lots of fun-packed ways you can fundraise for Laughter Africa. From diving competitions to Table Tennis tournaments. From running barefoot to running a marathon in Africa. From fire-breathing to fire-walking. You could run a marathon every day for a month or even run six marathons on six continents! The world’s your oyster! There are limitless ways for you to fundraise for Laughter Africa. You could do it by yourself, with family, friends, colleagues, your church, your school, your sports team or any other social or community groups you belong to.

Stuck for ideas? Need some inspiration? To help you come up with ideas we have prepared a fundraising guide jam-packed with lots of ideas. It is full to the brim with helpful hints and tips. Also in the pack are lots of extra fundraising tips including matched funding possibilities, gift aid and other practicalities you might need to consider. To download your guide please click here. You can even come up with your own unique fundraising ideas too.

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Events and challenges

If you would take to take part in a sporting event please click where indicated below and the link will take you to a list of events taking place in that area or field:

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Click here to visit the ‘Run for Charity’ website for a selection of marathons, half-marathons, 10 km or 5 km races or torture runs such as Hell Runner, The Demon Run Series, The Spartan Race or even Tough Mudder. If you can’t find what you are looking for on the ‘Run for Charity’ website then please click here or here to find upcoming events near you instead.

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Always wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? Cycle ride from Vietnam to Cambodia? Trek the Great Wall of China? Walk the Peruvian Inca Trail? Well now is your chance. Listed below are links to websites offering hundreds of different overseas challenges you can complete while raising money for Laughter Africa:

Please note that Laughter Africa can not contribute in any way to any associated costs so please ensure that you choose the self-funding option.

bikeClick here to visit the ‘Cycle for Charity’ website for a selection of different charity bike rides coming up. From ‘Prudential RideLondon 100’ to the ‘London to Brighton’ bike ride. From local sky rides to even nightriders, everything you need to know about charity bike rides can be found here.

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Do you feel up for a challenge? Then how about completing a triathlon for Laughter Africa? From the ‘Virgin Active London Triathlon’ to the ‘Blenheim triathlon’ – there are lots to choose from. For a list of upcoming events near you please click:

 

3 peaks 2You could complete a sponsored walk or trek anywhere in the UK. You could complete the ‘Three Peak challenge’, walk the Jurassic Coast or trek to Hadrian’s Wall. You could organise your own walk or click any of the links below to join an organised walk:

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You could have a sponsored swim for Laughter Africa. You could organise your own swimming event or you can click here or here to see information about upcoming national swimming events.

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In December why not join thousands of Santas across the country to raise money for Laughter Africa. All you have to do is put on a Santa suit and run. To find your nearest Santa Dash click here.

Don’t forget these are just suggestions. You could enter or compete in any other type of event you would like. From skydives, abseiling, parachute jumps, bungee jumps to hundreds of other adrenaline sports or activities, take your pick…..

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Own Places

Unlike a lot of other charities we don’t offer ‘charity places’ in sporting events as to get a charity place costs an extortionate amount of money and we would prefer the money that we do have to go towards our work with street children. Unlike a lot other charities we do not set any fundraising sponsorship targets for any sporting event – we are just grateful for anything you raise for us.

It is really easy to get your ‘own place’ in a sporting event. Follow these three simple steps:

  • Firstly have a look at all the different events on offer by looking at the links above and choose which events you would like to take part in.
  • Once you have decided which event you’d like to compete in all you need to do is go directly to the official website of the sporting event that you have chosen and book your own place directly with the event organisers. Sometimes you may be placed in a ballot or sometimes you might be given a place straight away – it depends on the popularity of the event you have entered. However, some events such as the London Marathon and Great North Run are really popular so apply as soon as the ballot opens.
  • Please get in touch with us once you’ve entered your event so that we can welcome you properly to Team Laughter Africa and offer you any support and encouragement you may need.

We will update Twitter, Facebook and our website whenever a new ballot opens for a sporting event. We also have an email list just for events so each time a new ballot opens we will send you an email alert. Let us know if you would like to be added to the events email list.

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Why join Team Laughter Africa

As a member of Team Laughter Africa, you’ll be in good hands and we’ll make sure you feel 100% supported from the day you sign up to race day and beyond. For taking part in a sporting event for Laughter Africa you will receive:

  • A snazzy Laughter Africa T-shirt or running vest.
  • A certificate and medal (if one is not provided by the official event organisers).
  • lots of support and encouragement in the lead up to the day.

Most importantly, we will ensure that any sponsorship you raise will make a real difference to the lives of street children in Africa.

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Resources to help you with your events and fundraising

Online fundraising pages

If you are taking part in an event to fundraise for Laughter Africa and are looking for sponsors, we would encourage you to set up a fundraising page on ‘Wonderful Organisation’. It’s easy to do and all the instructions are on their website.

Sponsor Forms

You can also download a sponsor form here. Don’t forget to send us back the sponsor form with your donation as we need the sponsor form to be able to claim the gift aid.

Meet some of Laughter Africa’s fundraisers

Anyone who fundraises for us in any way will be added to the online Laughter Africa book (if they wish to be added) so your contribution will always be part of our story. Click here to see some of our Laughter Africa fundraisers and hear their stories. Let us know if you have fundraised for us and we’ll add you to the book. The slideshow below shows some of our fundraisers:

Maureen Tyrrell organised two quizzes for Laughter Africa. One in May and another one in November 2015. St Aidan's Church in Wigan raised money for Laughter Africa by giving every child in the parish a tube of Smarties. They were asked to eat the Smarties and then fill the tube with 20p pieces. St Teresa's Church in Upholland held two fundraising events for Laughter Africa. In September/October 2016 they ran a raffle which raised £620. Meanwhile during Advent 2016, the children's liturgy group chose Laughter Africa as their Advent charity raising £466. Pat Boyle celebrated a big birthday in July 2016. In lieu of presents she asked for donations for Laughter Africa instead. She raised over £1000. Frieda Rimmer raised money in December 2016 by raffling a cake she had baked. Alison Benson and Sarah McCurry raised money by running another ukulele-a-thon in November 2016. Over £800 was raised.  Alison Benson and Sarah McCurry raised money by running another ukulele-a-thon in November 2016. Over £800 was raised. Alison Benson and Sarah McCurry raised money by running another ukulele-a-thon in November 2016. Over £800 was raised. Alison Benson and Sarah McCurry raised money by running another ukulele-a-thon in November 2016. Over £800 was raised. Alison Benson and Sarah McCurry raised money by running another ukulele-a-thon in November 2016. Over £800 was raised. The Makin family from Wigan raised £500 for Laughter Africa. Proud parents Alison and Stephen recently had another new addition to their family called James Patrick. He was baptised at Corpus Christi Church in Rainford. Instead of receiving baptism gifts they asked their friends and family if they could donate to 'big James's' charity instead. Lorraine McKinley organised a concert at the Liverpool Auditorium for Laughter Africa in the middle of December 2015. Alison, Sarah and Emma organised a Ukulelethon on October 24th 2015 in the Wirral. Kate Fearon and David Evans married on Saturday 24th October 2015. Rather than ask for presents, Kate and David decided to ask guests instead to give donations to Laughter Africa or a local hospice. Denise North ran the Liverpool Santa Dash in the pouring rain on Sunday 6th December 2015 to raise money for Laughter Africa. Denis eenjoyed it so much he ran it again in December 2016. Joe McArdle and Dave Cartmell ran the London Marathon in April 2015. David also ran the London Marathon again in 2016. Andrew Telesia ran the Edinburgh Marathon for Laughter Africa on Sunday 31st May. Dan McCulloch completed the Run Reigate Half Marathon in Surrey on Sunday 20th September. He ran the half marathon in memory of his cousin Helen Wills. Tony and Pauline Foster from Wigan ran the Amsterdam marathon on Sunday 18th October 2015. Pauline ran the half marathon while Tony ran the whole 26 miles. It's the first time either of them have ever ran a marathon before. Dan Crompton from Wigan who ran in the Liverpool Half-Marathon on Sunday 29th March 2015. He has the huge honour of being Laughter Africa's first ever marathon runner! Clare Silcock, from Leigh, took part in Leeds Total warrior in June 2015 with some of her work colleagues. Marc and Joy ran the Rougher Mudder event in London in September 2016 to raise money for Laughter Africa Paul O'Callaghan participated in a 10 mile race to fundraise for Laughter Africa on 3rd April 2017 Sacha Byrne ran the Trafford 10km run on Sunday 5th March to raise money for Laughter Africa The lovely staff at St Anne’s Primary School in Rock Ferry organised a bingo night in mid March 2017 to raise money for Laughter Africa. They raised a brilliant £420. The lovely Moira McAdam organised an Irish night in Mid March 2017 to raise money for Laughter Africa and Wirral homelessness. They had a disco, Irish dancing, an Irish folk band performed, a hotpot supper and Irish bingo. Clare Silcock and Sarah Duffy ran the Manchester 10k in May 2017 to raise money for Laughter Africa. Eddie Caldow ran the London Marathon in 2017 to raise money for Laughter Africa. We haven't got a picture of him in his glamorous Laughter Africa vest so here is a photo of him just before he got married instead! Alison Benson organised another Ukelele-athon on 2nd March 2018  at St Anne's. Alison Benson organised another Ukelele-athon on 2nd March 2018  at St Anne's. St Joseph’s Church in Penketh organised a musical evening on Friday 23rd February in order to raise funds for Laughter Africa. We had performances from Warrington Brass, St Joseph’s church pantomime group and St Joseph’s and Sacred Heart’s choir. We had a raffle, played bingo and James also talked about the work of Laughter Africa. It was such a lovely atmosphere and it raised a magnificent amount.
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St Joseph’s Church in Penketh organised a musical evening on Friday 23rd February in order to raise funds for Laughter Africa. We had performances from Warrington Brass, St Joseph’s church pantomime group and St Joseph’s and Sacred Heart’s choir. We had a raffle, played bingo and James also talked about the work of Laughter Africa. It was such a lovely atmosphere and it raised a magnificent amount.

Contact us

Remember, you are not alone. Whatever fundraising feats you decide on the Laughter Africa team will be behind you every step of the way – keeping in touch with you and offering any support you need. It’s always great to see what our amazing fundraisers achieve and we’d love to see any stories or pictures from your events. If you have any questions about fundraising or need any extra ideas, support or advice then please let us know and we’ll be happy to help. Email us at info@laughterafrica.org.uk.

Best of luck and have fun!

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