This March, Water Babies customers across the UK will be sponsored to complete a splashathon swimming challenge in their favourite fancy dress to help ensure a better, brighter future for all children.
Together, we want to raise £1 million for Tommy’s and the Children’s Alliance.
This could fund key projects which give children access to water through Children Alliance, from specialist swimming lessons for SEN children, making swimming an inclusive sport through the provision of swimwear, to providing access to specific water sports which can help children with mental health issues. This could also fund the UK’s first Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research for a year, working to reduce the numbers of babies born too early.
This bi-annual event is a special experience for Water Babies employees as well, who all contribute and help to raise funds both in and out of the pool during Splashathon.
Water Babies customer Laura Veevers took part in her first Splashathon in 2021, and since then has trained to become a Water Babies swimming teacher, with her own water babies to learn to swim and to have fun in their Splashathon lessons.
Laura shares her personal Splashathon story with us, and why you should take part and fundraise this March.
Falling in love with baby swimming
My name is Laura, and I live in Norwich. I’ve been taking my little boy Lenny to Water Babies lessons since 2020, at City Academy in Norwich. From the moment I attended my first lesson, I fell in love with baby swimming. I love how inclusive Water Babies is, and how everyone is made to feel so welcome.
The lessons are so much fun for the little ones, and it’s amazing to watch Lenny’s confidence grow each week. It has given me the confidence as well to know he understands how to be safe in the water from such a young age. This will stay with him for life, as he continues his love of the water.
Splashathon fun
Lenny and I took part in our first Splashathon in 2021. We couldn’t wait to fundraise and enjoyed every second of the build-up and the special lesson as well. In total, we managed to raise £525 which was really exciting! And ended up being one of the top fundraisers in our region.
Splashathon creates such an amazing atmosphere in lessons and it was lovely to see everyone make so much effort in their fancy dress. The teachers also really bring the lessons to life and are dedicated to creating as much energy and fun as possible in classes, helping each little one to achieve their challenge.
Importance of fundraising
There’re so many reasons why fundraising is important. This year we’re raising funds for two really special UK charities, which are dedicated to helping all children to have better starts and brighter futures.
Raising money for Tommy’s is so crucial, and it’s a cause which is very close to my heart. I was really motivated to fundraise for this charity in Splashathon 2021 due to my own challenging journey to becoming a mum. After suffering from recurrent miscarriages and undergoing numerous round of IVF, I was eventually blessed with having our rainbow baby, Lenny.
The work Tommy’s does to support families and research into baby loss is vital. It’s a real personal journey for me to fundraise for this charity, and all funds will help them to continue doing the miraculous work they do, by providing better starts for babies.
We’re so excited to raise money for the Children’s Alliance, the Water Babies charity, for the first time as well. As a customer and teacher, I understand the power water can have on families for both mental and physical health. The community initiatives which Children’s Alliance supports will ensure communities can have access to water and experience the benefits to provide brighter futures for children and young people.
I feel truly blessed to be able to take part in Splashathon with Lenny, and can’t wait to see how much we can raise in 2024.
Becoming a Teacher
After being a Water Babies customer for a few years, in 2022 I saw Water Babies Norfolk were advertising for new teachers to teach lessons, and I knew from the second I saw the ad this is what I wanted to do. Attending the classes and seeing how much teachers loved their jobs and how much the children’s confidence was growing weekly due to their amazing work, I knew I wanted to become part of the Water Babies family.
Teaching Splashathon lessons
I cannot wait to teach my Splashathon lessons this year and see all the little ones in their favourite fancy dress, and the parents of course! We’re going to have so much fun and I’m so excited to help all my little water babies achieve their challenges in lessons. They’ll be super proud of themselves! And it’s really special to know I’ll be part of their journey.
Advice for fundraising
If you’re thinking of fundraising for Splashathon – just go for it! It’s really easy to set-up a fundraising page and Just Giving take you through each stage, so it’s super simple. It doesn’t matter how much you raise, and there’s no pressure. Both charities will be so grateful for every penny raised, and people really do surprise you with their generosity.
My top tips for fundraising would be:
- Share your fundraising page on your social media sites if you have it! This helps to reach as many people as possible.
- Send your fundraising page to all your friends and family as well.
- Don’t forget to reshare the page as well a few days before the event, to give people a nudge and reminder.
- After you’ve completed Splashathon, reshare the link again with a photo of your little one taking part to share their achievement.
If every water baby across the country raises just £24, we would reach our target of £1 million – which is crazy! These charities really need our help and are so grateful for the support.
When people come together, we can achieve wonderful things, and this is such a great event to be a part of and support.
So let’s do this!
Click here to visit the Splashathon website and start fundraising today.
