Allerton Grange School: Our First Yorkshire One Day

This year, a new opportunity was available for schools in Yorkshire that partner with First Give: One Day.

One Day is a drop-down day programme that introduces an entire year group to the practical realities of charitable work as they take part in an immersive and student-led charity challenge. Later, they engage with local charities and actively support the causes that matter most to them by directly contributing to them, all in One Day.

Allerton Grange School (Leeds, West Yorkshire) brought an entire year group together for a full day of social action, charitable learning, and student-led decision making, running the programme with their Year 10 students in early March this year.

Students worked in teams during the charity challenge

Designed to empower and enthuse young people about charitable giving, the programme helps students to explore how they can give their time, money, and skills to causes they care about. After an exciting launch assembly, classes began the Charity Challenge, with groups of young people working in teams to simulate the running of a foodbank. Through this, students assigned roles such as Charity CEO, Volunteer Manager, Accounting and Finance lead, and more. The groups were then presented with a series of challenges to complete, through which they were awarded grants that would allow them to enhance their impact as they moved through the challenge.

“Through the Charity Challenge, the group project work was excellent. Delegation skills were strong throughout, and some students you would not necessarily expect to engage so confidently really came into their own,” shared Ms Braim, Assistant Headteacher for Personal Development.

Following the Charity Challenge, students met three local charities, and they were able to ask them questions about their work and impact. They met: Karma Nirvana, Leeds Women’s Aid, and St Gemma’s Hospice. Students asked insightful questions about the charities’ work, exploring local need and the realities of frontline support. Following some reflection time, students were each given the equivalent of £5 to donate, and invited to decide exactly how they would like to distribute their funds across the three charities.

Students met three local charities and they were able to ask them questions about their work and impact.

Teachers noted the maturity with which students approached complex issues including domestic abuse, bereavement, and honour-based violence. Miss Mills, Careers Lead, said: “What stood out most was the students’ level of understanding, which moved far beyond what I expected in just one day. They understand why donating to charities is important, they could explain where their money was going, and their understanding of impact was really clear.”

Speaking with the charities present at Allerton Grange School, we heard firsthand how important it is to engage young people in their communities to make a difference. Harriet Eggeling, Fundraising Officer at Leeds Women’s Aid, shared her reflections on the day:

“I really enjoyed talking to the young people, who were highly engaged and asked very insightful questions. It was rewarding to see their curiosity and interest in the work we do.

Raising awareness of the work we do helps young people understand what domestic violence and abuse is, recognise the signs, and know where to seek support. This awareness can play an important role in helping to break the cycle of abuse”

Sondos Bowker, Learning and Policy Officer from Karma Nirvana, added “We were genuinely struck by their curiosity, maturity and enthusiasm. Students… reflected on how they can contribute not only through fundraising, but also by giving their skills, talents and time. They asked thoughtful questions about purpose-driven work, funding, the challenges faced by victims and service users, and what a career in the third sector can look like.”

Across the day, students were introduced to a series of challenging and engaging opportunities that tested their skills in teamwork, leadership and communication, and many more besides. Through donating to charitable causes, they were able to see how it feels to give, and also understand the cumulative impact of charitable giving by working in their classes, and as a year group, to enact change.

At Allerton Grange, this amounted to £1,330 being donated to three fantastic local charities.

The power of young people working to create change is astounding, and our charity representatives on the day were not short of suggestions for further action and support. Harriet suggested:

“[Young people] can help raise awareness by following us on social media and liking or sharing our posts. They could also organise donation drives at school, at home, or within community groups…

Young people could also raise funds through different fundraising initiatives, such as bake sales, sponsored challenges, or school events, helping us continue to provide vital support.”

For Allerton Grange, the programme created a whole-year-group experience that combined enrichment, skills development, and meaningful community impact. It strengthened relationships with local charities, and created a platform for future student involvement in social action. Ms Braim and Ms Mills concluded that:

“First Give One Day is a wonderful opportunity to promote the value of social action with young people. It gives students real-life experience and provides them with tools that help them understand third sector working.”

Following the success of the day, our partnership with Allerton Grange School and their students will continue in 2026–27 through delivery of both First Give One Day and our flagship First Give programme too. We’re excited to get started!

By Amy Calvert- First Give Programme Manager for Yorkshire and the North West