Although we have events all year round, October is our main fundraising month and we aim to paint our towns red, having lots of fun while raising money.

Why 'Red October'?

When children with heart and lung conditions are healthy, their blood is nice and red with oxygen. When they are not so well their blood becomes more blue as it lacks in oxygen. This is a worrying and stressful time for all the family. Therefore, we chose red as our fundraising theme as a reflection of healthy children and happy families.  Why October? Well, why not. It is a cold month between the excitement of the new school year and looking forward to Christmas so we thought we would take the opportunity to add some colour and fun to the month. One of our main activities is a scavenger hunt where children are sponsored to find as many red things as possible and having Red October gives us a chance to call this 'The Hunt for Red (in) October.

How to Get Involved

You can get involved by joining in with the fundraising events on the wards and in the foyer of The Brompton Hospital, in London and in your region. We also encourage members to hold their own fundraising events. Last year, Natalie and Francesca raised £130 by holding red cake stalls and a red 'guess the number of sweeties in the jar' competition. Jessica's mummy made  and sold some lovely red themed greetings cards. These are just some of the ways our members had great fun going red and raising money during Red October 2007.
 

Of course, you can join in 'The Hunt for Red in October' and see if you can beat Bilal's winning list of 67 items. With 2007 being the first 'Red October', Bilal holds the record. Will it be beaten in 2008? There are prizes for the child who finds the most items and another for the child who raises the most sponsor money. There are also certificates for all who take part.

 

Getting Your Schools and Clubs Involved

Many of the activities we have designed for Red October have children at their centre. We have made it this way to encourage schools, organisations and clubs to join in. We have a fundraising pack available and, this year, will be awarding a special prize to the school and organisation who raise the most money for us during the month. Schools and clubs can encourage their members to take part in The Hunt for Red in October and can also hold activities such as red non-uniform days, cake sales, red art and craft activities and sales or red themed academic activities. Most schools and organisations will be meeting now to decide the charities and activities that they will be supporting in the new academic year. They get a lot of requests and tend to favour those with direct relevance to their members. Please help us by telling your school and clubs about Red October 2008 now and suggesting they look at this website. We have a letter for you to give to your schools and any clubs you may be a member of. Please download this HERE or contact us for a copy and pass it on as soon as possible.

We have a lot of exciting things that we plan to do in 2009. Red October is an important source of income for us to ensure that we can do all the things we want to do.