Charities Report

2023-24

AWARENESS ADVENTURE ACTION

AMBASSADORS AGENCY

Welcome

It has been an honour to serve as the college’s inaugural student lead for charities, working with both staff and boys alike to curate a programme centred on giving. This report aims to showcase the very best of the college community and its commitment to charity.

Upon taking on the role in Michaelmas, it was clear that its purview was not limited to just the daily running of the college’s charitable endeavours, but was so much more. At the heart of it is a duty to ensure that each Radleian develops a sense of charity through understanding and service. Such an awareness can not be taught in the classroom but relies on boys being adventurous in exploring the opportunities for involvement in change and a desire to imprint a positive difference on the world around them.

This year I have had the privilege of working with charity reps who have been ambassadors within their socials, developing a language for advocacy around the college. As you will see in this report, collaborating with them has been a joy – they have been vital to nurturing an environment of charity through donations, entrepreneurship, and sponsorship. Next year, reps will be guided by Ed who will use his experience as a rep in D Social to support them as he takes over from September.

I hope that you will join me in celebrating the efforts collated in this report as a reflection of our aims to supporting our community by developing an understanding of the benefits of charity

Sulay (6.2, D)

Student Lead for Charities

Donation

A key method for raising money for charities at Radley is through donations. In this year alone, donations made up over £18,500 of all money raised for charities. Here are just a few examples:

£1,057.62 raised for the Royal British Legion during the Poppy Appeal

£848.76 raised for Oxfordshire Youth through Christmas Jumper Day

£1,010 raised for Oxfordshire Youth via the Christmas Service collections

£348 raised for Oxfordshire Youth through the Radley College Croquet Open Competition

£15,000 raised for Active Oxfordshire by the Six Rackets event

OxTrail

Charity reps raised money for OxTrail via a cookie sale, in partnership with Proof Social, and an ice cream sale in the summer term.

The Radley Ox was painted by three 6.1s who were inspired by the poem ‘Thyrsis’ by Matthew Arnold who described Oxford as ‘that sweet city with her dreaming spires’.

The overall aim of OxTrail is to raise money for Sobell House Hospice in Oxford, who provide expert and compassionate care to people at the end of life, and support to their family and friends. In this, we are pleased that we have reached our school fundraising target for the Oxtrail/Sobell House project of £1,158.

Dr Ruth Tufnell Don in Charge

Social’s Actions

Each of the eleven socials has a team of charity reps who do more than just collect donations for mufti days. Charity reps often organise and host events that get the whole social involved, and even their families, to raise money for their desired charity.

This year six socials have arranged their own fundraising activities including K Social who raised £1,900 for Thomas Reade Primary School and G Social who raised £4,227 for Money for Madagascar, who tackle challenges faced by young people.

D Social put on a charity cocoa for Children in Need. They raised £730 by holding an auction and raffle. They plan on holding an event every year, alternating with Comic Relief.

C Social’s charity reps worked with Mrs Carter to sell belts in the social’s colours. They raised over £1,000 for Down’s South London, a charity that provides early intervention therapy service for babies and young children with Down’s Syndrome and a local support network for their families.

In March, E Social held a 24-hour football competition, with tense matches between the pinks and the blacks. They raised over £2,000 for the Charlie Waller Trust, a charity that aims to provide care to ease concerns over men’s mental health.

Sponsorship

Over the year, boys and dons have worked with charities in order to build and maintain strong relationships with the college. By sponsoring, the college can raise money for partner charities in a range of activities and events.

Most of these surround sports competitions and challenges as seen with the Removes’ penalty shoot out which raised £100 for the Commonwealth Education Trust, which saw Cameroonian footballer Eyong Enoh teach avid young players a few skills.

Boys and dons took part in the 2024 Oxford Town and Gown, running in the heat, and raising important funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK. There was a big turnout from C and L Socials who raised over £1,120 for the charity.

In November 2023, 19 members of the 6.2s grew a moustache over the course of the month, taking part in Movember, the national campaign to support men’s mental health. In total, £5,872 was raised by both boys and dons.

Gosha (Shell, D) hiked Mt Toubkal over the Michaelmas leave-away to help the Marrakesh earthquake appeal. He joined CPMM’s mum, who experienced the quake, to put on a Moroccan-themed cocoaraising over £250 for the cause.

F Social 6.1s took part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge. Scaling, Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough, the boys raised over £2,400 for Maggie’s Cancer Trust who give support and care to patients and their families.

Commonwealth Education Trust

Radley and the CET have been working together since 2021 to connect our pupils to those supported by Kenya Connect. As well as engaging in Zoom calls each Monday, Removes have been fundraising to promote the charity’s vision to provide all children with quality and supported teachers.

This year, the Removes raised £8,000 through a wide range of events, sales, and activities:

Entrepreneurship

A unique way in which boys can raise money for charities is by using their own entrepreneurial skills to set up enterprises within the college.

This year over £2,000 was raised for Oxford Head Injury Services through the Radley Trackies sale.

In the Summer Term, seven 6.1 boys designed and sold Radley Pint Cups - raising over £500 for the mental health charity, Mind.

Data Analysis

Methods of raising funds for charities can be broken down into three categories, as seen above. Filtering these further allows for not only clearer insight into the make-up, but can also guide future strategy which can empower more involvement by boys.

We aim to increase the number of boys starting their own initiatives, mainly via sponsorship and entrepreneurship, by developing a sense of understanding surrounding charities. These branches will be expanded in the future by boys who are passionate about spearheading the charities programme and furthering the college’s aims on giving.

R E V I E W

A breakdown of funds raised by the college for respective charities 2023-4

>£5,000

Active Oxfordshire

Commonwealth Education Trust

>£2,000

Help for Heroes

Movember

Soundabout

Money for Madagascar

>£1,000

Oxfordshire Youth

Thomas Reade

Primary

Royal British Legion

<£1,000

Children in Need

Royal Marsden

Hospital

Oxford Head Injury Services

Maggie’s Cancer Trust

British Red Cross

Down’s South

London

Muscular Dystrophy

Sobell House

Charlie Waller Trust Mind

Mr John Sparks

Director of Charities and Partnerships

Rev PJ Taylor

Dr PJ Langman

Mr CR Mason

Masters in Charge of Charities

Sulay (6.2, D Social)

Student Lead for Charities 2023-24

Ed (6.1, D Social)

Student Lead for Charities 2024-25