A group of tiny fundraisers from Angus has topped the tots in a charity campaign.
Baby Sensory groups in Angus have been taking part in a fundraising campaign to raise money for the charity Tommy’s.
Organiser and class teacher Lisa Melrose reveals their amazing efforts have put Angus classes in first place for fundraising.
They hit a whopping target of £17,000 this weekend.
The Baby Sensathon Fundraiser has seen 195 local tots and their grown ups take part in a series of challenges to raise cash.
Baby class to learn and grow
Lisa explains: “Baby Sensory is a learning and development programme written by Dr Lin Day.
“It’s for babies aged from birth to 13 months.
“Everything we do in class is based on research into how babies grow and develop.
“This week I’m leading the classes in Angus through six wild west-themed challenges. We started fundraising on April 20 and the actual fundraiser ends this week.
“I told everyone who came to the classes about Tommy’s and what they do.
“As a company, we want to raise £400,000 across the UK, which is the amount of money needed to fund a Tommy’s research centre for a year.”
When the campaign began, Lisa says the aim was to raise £12 each to contribute to the national target.
But Angus classes have more than exceeded expectations with their efforts.
“They started signing up to the fundraising page, sharing it on their social media and hugely got behind it. They’ve run with it!
“I could cry – it’s absolutely incredible.”
Lisa says a huge part of what she does in class is supporting parents, introducing them to friends and bringing a community together.
“This fundraiser has shown the strength of that community and it’s really blown me away, how much these parents have raised.
Small but mighty fundraising
“We’re probably one of the smallest franchises in the UK.
“So compared with London and other places, for our little franchise to raise that amount is mind-blowing and wonderful.
“I think I would have to say the biggest thank you – these people are amazing.
“They’ve gone to so much effort, fundraising and dressing up.
“It’s all down to the dedication of the parents. They’re an incredible community.”
Debbie Wilton who attends class with granddaughter Eden Macmillan, 10 months, said they’ve really enjoyed it.
“It’s absolutely amazing. Lisa made us feel so welcome and it’s great for bringing the kids on.
“Tommy’s is such a worthwhile cause too and is close to everyone’s heart.”
Joanna Black attends with son Brodie, 10 months and has raised £330.
“We’ve been blown away by how kind everyone’s been.
“I was stuck in the house through the whole of my pregnancy because of lockdown so it’s great to get out and have the support of other mums.”
Former class participant Hope Stewart decided she and daughter Vinx, 13 months, wanted to be involved in the fundraiser too after making memories during their time at the classes.
‘Crazy mum!’
Hope’s wife, Lynne Fenton, from Brunton Design Architects in Carnoustie, is also offering a prize of £100 in gift vouchers for the best fancy dress.
Hope says: “Vinx and I always got dressed up – Lisa used to call me crazy mum because of the costumes!
“But because it’s such a good cause, we wanted to encourage people to dress up and enjoy it as we’ve done.”
Conversation