Fundraising
November 2024
Winter Fundraiser Concert
We enjoyed a fantastic concert performed by the Harrow Apollo Male Voice Choir on the 23rd of November. It was a truly entertaining evening with a varied programme of music lead by their conductor Phil Southgate. They began with “Grand Night for Singing” from 'State Fair' and effortlessly proceeding through music from the musicals, pop and classical opera, including 'Thank you for the Music', 'Luck be a Lady', 'We are the Champions' and even 'Nessum Dorma'. They were supported by the extremely talented Hao Zi Yoh, who gave us two pianoforte solos leaving the audience spellbound. The attendees and choir members enjoyed refreshments and a raffle at the end to help with fundraising. In total the evening raised over £1600 for CLICKRukiga. This money will go towards the completion of the new RYID building. It was a great fundraising effort before the end of the year, providing so much for the community (especially young people) in Uganda. Many thanks to everyone who joined us for the entertainment and helped behind the scenes to make it such a success.
July 2024
Summer Fundraiser Concert
Friday 5th July 2024: Torrential rain didn’t deter a packed audience of live music fans attending the incredible Mari Wilson concert at The Hub in Chalfont St Peter. Organised by our sponsor Richard Cottle, a keyboards sensation, we are extremely grateful that Mari, Richard and his band gave their time and talent for free to raise funds for ClickRukiga’s Youth in Development training project. Our Chair, Julie Dungey, outlined the work of our charity then introduced Mari who beautifully reprised a series of 60’s hits including‘Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps’ and ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway’. She covered Smokey Robinson, The Beatles and various Burt Bacharach favourites to smiles and singalongs in the appreciative audience. She ended with an encore of her well known 80s hits “Cry me a river” and “Just what I always wanted”.
A successful raffle raised £400 and with ticket receipts and donations on the night the final figure is just over £2,500! A really big thank you to our team of volunteers and of course everyone who joined the event.
January 2024
Winter Fundraiser Meal
Tuesday 30th January 2024: Over 60 supporters of both charities enjoyed a friendly, sociable get together over a lovely meal at Dhaka restaurant. Attendees learnt about each other’s organisations and raised money for each other via a raffle, a guess the weight of the cake competition, and through the sale of tickets.
The evening was a great success again, with a very healthy fundraising total of £1,053.
March 2023
Spring Fundraiser Meal
We enjoyed a brilliant 3 course buffet meal with the Dhamaka restaurant on the 28th of March. It was a great evening with tasty Indian food to tuck into with a background of Ugandan music, followed by a raffle with various prizes and a game to end the night. 65 people were able to join us and together with further sales of raffle tickets on the night we raised £1200 for the charity! It was an enjoyable way to kick off our fundraising efforts this year, and will provide a lot for the community in Uganda. Many thanks to the Dhamaka team and everyone else who joined us for the evening.
CLICKRukiga 2023 Calendar
For the first time ever, CLICKRukiga designed and created a calendar to raise funds for projects happening over in Uganda. The calendar had lots of wonderful pictures from our projects and the local area along with some interesting information about our work and Uganda. We hope to have our next one in 2025 following positive feedback from both the Ickenham community and our friends in Uganda.
November 2022
Winter Fundraiser Concert
We enjoyed a fantastic concert performed by the Harrow Apollo Male Voice Choir on the 19th of November. It was a truly entertaining evening with a varied programme of music lead by their conductor David Heasman. They began with the “Anvil chorus” and proceeded through music from the musicals, pop and classical opera with ease, including Some Enchanted Evening, Uptown Girl, You’ll Never Walk Alone and even Nessum Dorma. They were supported by the extremely talented Philomena McRae, who gave us two pianoforte solos. Over 120 thirsty attendees and choir members enjoyed refreshments and we held a raffle at the end. Together with further sales of the 2023 CLICKRukiga calendar we raised over £1600 for the charity. It was an incredible way to start our fundraising efforts post-Covid, and will provide a lot for the community in Uganda. Many thanks to church members John and Frank for helping us on the night and everyone else who joined us for the entertainment.
During COVID
FUND RAISING 2020 - mid 2022
The postponement of events such as the Ickenham Festival, Silent Auction and our annual Christmas Carols Concert have brought community fundraising to a juddering halt. The lockdowns have coincided with the time when many of these and other activities would otherwise take place. We are grateful for all the support we have had over this time, to support our friends in Rukiga, which is highlighted in our reflection below.
Fundraising activities are vital to enable us to operate effectively and also raise public awareness of our work. To continue supporting our friends in Rukiga please go to our About Us page and donate. The only limit is the one you set yourself.
A Reflection on 2021 and Objectives for 2022
2021 has been a difficult year for many around the globe but especially in Uganda where the effects of the pandemic have been felt particularly hard due to the impact of the lockdowns. Disruption to education has emerged as an unintended side effect not to mention the unemployment, work issues and no pay for a lot of folks.
Fundraising with a difference in 2021
Derek who is a very active member of CLICKRukiga, cycles with a group called Bikes R Us who cycle over ten miles each month. He helped to raise over £2000 leading up to Christmas, cycling over 100 miles around Britain. A typical day of cycling entailed "..an introductory five mile around Pegwell Bay, stopping off at the very realistic construction of the Viking longship that landed here in the 6th Century". The money raised, was sent to Rukiga in time for Christmas. It was used with the support of Hillary on the ground in Uganda to provide basic support for families, purchasing essential items of food and clothing.
During 2021 we sent patterns and funds for masks which were made locally and distributed to the children and their families as this provision was initially limited.
In August 2021, we wrote to sponsors explaining the challenging times appealing for help with our Emergency Family Fund. Thanks to their generosity we raised £850. In December 2021, a further £250 donation ensured that the sponsored children in Rukiga had a good Christmas.
In 2022, we are looking forward to support our friends in Rukiga who are proposing to expand practical learning skills to create opportunities for young adults in their future. We are now holding a concert featuring the Harrow Apollo male voice choir. The concert was originally planned for 2021, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
A big thank you to the community of Ickenham for their continued support.
Looking forward to many fund raising events during 2022 for CLICKRukiga.
