With the 2019 BBC Children in Need Appeal show on the horizon, store colleagues from Asda in Newport are getting together to help make a difference with The Pudsey Island Challenge on 9th November.
The 7-hour round the Island challenge will see Pudsey visit 20 of the best attractions Isle of Wight has to offer, including Monkey Haven, Butterfly World, Ryde Pier, The Crab Inn, Amazon World, Godshill Old Smithy and The Needles, to name a few.
Asda store colleagues and Pudsey will have to be back at the Newport Asda store by 16:00 to complete the challenge.
Ahead of the challenge, participant and Asda Community Champion, Clare Jones said:
“I’m delighted to be taking part in The Pudsey Island Challenge for BBC Children in Need, hopefully the team will make it round the island in time, and help to raise as much money as possible for this year’s Appeal.”
Asda has been supporting BBC Children in Need for the last 19 years. For the past 3 years, Asda has been encouraging their customers to support the Power of Play campaign which raises money to support children and young people across the UK through play. Playing is an essential part of childhood development but research has shown that there aren’t enough accessible, safe, play opportunities across the UK and that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are the most likely to miss out. The Power of Play campaign aims to help children in every community access play and increase their skills.
As part of the campaign, Asda customers will be able to pick up free play passes in stores across the UK which children will be able to ‘trade-in’ with a grown-up for 30 minutes of play. Each of the play passes offers a different play activity and will help children to learn a variety of life skills, such as teamwork, patience and resilience, that will aid their development.
Supporting BBC Children in Need this year will help fund even more projects like Home-Start Isle Of Wight, which benefits from a 3-year grant of £73,480, to help fund a part-time group coordinator and part-time playworker, who facilitates a range of activities to engage early years’ children and their parents, in an environment that is welcoming and free from judgment. Offerings include weekly outdoor play sessions to encourage positive socialisation outside of the home, access to the Family Centre playrooms which are equipped with fun and educational toys to enhance development, and creative activities to boost their imagination.
BBC Children in Need currently funds 6 projects on the Isle of Wight with funding of more than £476,000 hard at work across the area.
BBC Children in Need’s official 2019 fundraising pack is available for download now from bbc.co.uk/pudsey and is bursting with ideas to inspire Get Together fundraising ahead of the 2019 Appeal show on Friday 15th November.
To date the Great British public has raised over £1 billion for children and young people across the UK and the charity is calling on people to once again pull out all the stops and help make a difference!
