Brewing Change: A Tea Party for a Worthy Cause

At First Give, we are dedicated to empowering young people as they make a positive difference in their communities through charitable social action.

Through our core programme, a whole year group of students engages in a dynamic experience where they identify social issues that they care about, connect with local charities and develop and deliver social action projects for those charities. In the latter half of the programme, students develop engaging and creative presentations that they’ll showcase at their school’s First Give Final – an exciting celebration at the end of their programme where the year group compete in their classes to secure a £1,000 First Give grant on behalf of their class charity.

The inaugural First Give programme at The Chalk Hills Academy saw eight local charities receiving fantastic support from Year 9 students through creative awareness- and fund- raising activities. One class stood out, making a special effort to support Women’s Aid in Luton, as students raised the profile of the charity and spoke openly about the issue of domestic violence. They raised vital funds for the charity, in addition to winning the £1,000 First Give grant.

After connecting with the charity, class 9SCH set upon planning a stand-out women’s tea party event, creating special handmade invitations for female teachers to attend and enjoy a variety of homemade treats. Students showed great care to link their social action to the social issue in a meaningful way and used the tea party as an opportunity to celebrate the women in the school community, whilst also promoting conversations around the violence against women.

Ensuring that the social issue of domestic violence was at the forefront, students provided purple ribbons for staff and students to wear as a symbol of their support and invited a representative from Women’s Aid in Luton to speak to those in attendance about the issue, and the important work that the charity carries out. The charity told us: “Our Operations Manager attended, and reported back to the rest of our staff how much effort had gone into the event, describing all the decorations and details. She enjoyed the afternoon very much.”

It was clear that the class worked as a team to give their time, money and skills in different ways, thinking about the different roles needed to contribute to making the tea party a real success. Not only did students take the time to prepare the food, they also made sure to advertise the event to spread the message, encourage donations, and even decided that male students in the class would volunteer their time to work as waiters for the day, serving up the food and showing support to their female teachers and classmates. The class thought carefully about how they could ensure their action had impact and raised an incredible total of over £300 for the charity!

Head of Religious Studies at The Chalk Hills Academy, Sana Baig, told us: “We feel honoured to have worked closely in support of the charity Women’s Aid through the First Give programme. Our students went above and beyond to raise money through the brilliant idea of a women’s tea party. It was an exceptional and high-quality event that our students and staff thoroughly enjoyed, and we learnt more about the work of Women’s Aid, and what we can do to support them. The highlight of this programme was seeing our students learn about social issues and watching them find passion and enjoyment in helping others. Well done to this group of students and their class teacher Miss Suleman.”

Reflecting on the Final, the charity told us: ”Our Children & Family Development Officer felt so proud of the students who she had delivered a presentation to earlier on in the year.” After winning the grant money, the funds were quickly put to good use to help local young people and families affected by domestic violence, and the charity kindly shared with us the heartwarming details of the positive impact that the students have had through their work:

Most of the children we support in refuge are babies to 7 years old, so we really wanted the children living in refuge to have some new play equipment to enjoy playing with in their gardens. We encourage outdoor play and socialisation with other children that are living in refuge, to help new families feel less isolated, and to improve their mental well-being. The Children & Family Development Officer excitedly researched various garden toys and found that we could purchase 3 hardwearing playhouses on stilts with slides… One 6-year-old boy arrived with his mum to his new temporary home after fleeing from domestic abuse; when he saw the playhouse in the garden his eyes lit up and he smiled widely. ‘Wow’, he said. Without your hard work, commitment and passion to raise awareness about our charity, we would never have been able to afford to buy these toys… You have provided children and their mums with the care and compassion they deserve, supporting their journey to living a life that is free from verbal, physical and emotional abuse. Don’t stop talking about Domestic Abuse, Gender Inequalities and Violence Against Women and Girls. We all have a part to play in making our world a safer place to live in. Thank you again for already playing your part.

We would like to offer our thanks once again for the hard work and care shown by the students and the staff at The Chalk Hills Academy on the First Give programme. Through your efforts, you have demonstrated the power of young people in a making positive, lasting impact and have, in the words of Women’s Aid, played your part.