Supporter Engagement Manager Emma Henderson gets out and about in the local community to talk about Rockinghorse.
For a small local charity like Rockinghorse, making sure we spread the word about our work within the local community is really important. We don’t have big budgets for fancy advertising campaigns or promotional items, but visiting local businesses, community groups and schools can be just as impactful.
Our Supporter Engagement Manager Emma Henderson spends a lot of her time doing just that. Her role involves linking in with different groups within the Sussex area, including groups like the WI, Lions Clubs and local schools.
Last week she made a visit to Patcham Junior School, in the north of Brighton, to talk to the Year 3s and 4s about what Rockinghorse does and how they can help support us.
The assembly began with an introduction from head teacher Mr. Ali Sutherland, then Emma talked to the children about all the different projects we fund and deliver, and how these make a difference to thousands of babies, children and young people.
She then set the group the challenge of guessing how many children we had supported during the last year and the successful guesser, Flynn, won a Rockinghorse tote bag.
He then told the assembly that he had been born prematurely and was cared for in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit for the first few weeks of his life, really showing how embedded Rockinghorse are within the local community.
During the assembly Emma also thanked pupils who recently organised a tombola stall at the school to raise money for Rockinghorse; Finley, Jenson, Kelsey, Orla, Ethan, Marnie, Elodie, Lucy and Elwood. It was a great way to show their fellow pupils how easy it is to raise money and support a local cause.
Mr. Sutherland explained why he felt it was important that the children learned about how charities work. He said, “It’s really important for the young people in school who have an inclination to either raise money themselves or spend some of their money helping charities and to understand where that money goes to in real, tangible things.
“And I suspect that will support them wanting to do that more in the future.”
Emma added, “I love visiting schools to talk about the work we do. Almost always there is a child who has been cared for up at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, or knows someone who was, so they can really see how we help.
It’s also really inspiring when we see children fundraising and supporting other children in their community. This kind of support really means so much to us and makes a huge difference to our fundraising.”
If you would like Emma to come and talk at your club, group or school, just get in touch. You can email her at emma@rockinghjorse.org.uk or call the Rockinghorse office on 01273 330044.
