Giving Day 2023 successfully draws to a close

The very first CCB Giving Day has now come to an end. I am delighted to report that, once all pledges are received, we should reach a Giving Day total of just over £40,000. This is a terrific total for a first Giving Day. The appeal was helped enormously by OBs and parents pledging money if certain challenges were met and this helped to inspire others to give. We are extremely grateful to those who pledged and all those who donated.

Doing something for the first time is always a challenge in itself, but we knew the day would go well when we saw pupils arriving with box and after box of food donations for Brecon Food Bank. By 8.30am the challenge to collect 500 items was already surpassed, and the donations just kept arriving. A fantastic 464Kg of food and toiletries was delivered to the Food Bank, and pupils’ donations to the local community unlocked a pledge of £1,000 to the Bursaries and Scholarships Fund.

You may well ask, why have a Giving Day? The answer is that it offers a sharp focus for a limited period on certain funds and the need for support. The climate for independent schools is tougher than ever and we need the support of OBs to build up the Foundation that enables us to secure the long term future of the school, support children from families with limited means, and invest in projects such as the Chapel and Pavilion.

Donations to the Foundation and to the Bursaries and Scholarships Fund enable us to support talented, gifted and ambitious pupils and also help us to support talented children from families who in normal circumstances would be unable to afford a place at Christ College. In the last financial year we were able to give £491,000 in scholarships and bursaries to pupils. Your donations, including those received on Giving Day, enable us to do more.

Donations received on Giving Day, encouraged by Anne Kleiser’s generous pledge, boosted the Pavilion Fund by more than £16,000. We continue to raise funds for the Pavilion, with ambitious plans to completely rebuild this iconic building and make it a showcase for the school.

Through funds raised for the Chapel and Heritage Fund on Giving Day, we have already been able to embark on two much-needed projects. We are about to order an oak adjustable organ bench for the Chapel at a cost of £2,700 and the Phillips Gates in Chapel Yard are being refurbished and painted.

Our successful first go at a Giving Day makes us excited and ambitious for next year, and we'll let you know details as our plans unfold. Indeed, we have already set a date for Giving Day 2024 – Friday 17th May!

In the meantime, please visit the Support Us pages to find out more about the Foundation funds and how to donate to them - the Foundation, the Bursaries and Scholarships Fund, the Chapel and Heritage Fund, and the Pavilion Fund. If you would like to  discuss making a donation, please feel free to contact me directly. It's always good to hear from you.