First Year Edge Project Pitches

On Monday we welcomed friends and family of our First Year pupils to learn more about our Sal’s Shoes EDGE project this term and most importantly to hear from the winning pitches from each class. Following their visit to Sal’s Shoes the pupils were tasked with coming up with some new ideas to enable the charity to further its impact and increase its footprint. Having worked in groups and then pitched their ideas to their class teacher, the finalists were selected and invited to present to Sal’s Shoes CEO, Camilla Bowry OBE and trustee member Russell Dixon Box. The judges were in awe of the presentations by the winning groups from each class and the articulate ways in which they were expressed to the audience. Each group’s presentation was considered and well thought out, using their PowerPoint presentations to highlight their ideas but not deliver them.

1F group A: The judges were impressed by this group’s suggestion of a sponsored fun run and the attention to detail they’d paid into selecting potential dates including the location and predicted weather.

1F group Bs: The judges welcomed the idea of a Sal’s Shoes advertising billboard at Caterham School and thought the girls’ idea of regular email updates to supporters and newsletters to the local community to rally further support was brilliant.

1S: The judges thought the sponsored runs, importance of exploring donations of socks as well as shoes and their summer volunteering camps concept for young people suggested by this group, were excellent ideas. Sal’s Shoes hope to explore the idea of summer holiday volunteering half day camps for school children in time for next summer as a result of this idea.

1V: The judges loved this group’s idea of a fundraising football match and the need for Sal’s Shoes to have heightened visibility and were grateful for their offer of social media support.

1W: The judges thought this group’s idea of advertising at bus stops, and the cost of this that they’d looked into, was a super idea, given the number of young people and therefore potential shoe donors, that wait at bus stops to and from school especially.

Joint winners

1S ‘Blockchain’: The judges loved the way this group thought about how Sal’s Shoes could expand their footprint through an app, on-shoring and brand affiliation.

1L: CJ’s heroines of the evening – this group were credited with thinking outside the box and using the opportunity of a captive audience to consider ways in which Sal’s Shoes could have even more of a positive impact on many of the young people they help support. Their presentation of what could have been awkward subject matters was pitch perfect and delivered with a maturity beyond their years.

Well done to Elliot, Kamran, Kavish & Anders from 1S and Maame-Akua, Katherine, Elizabeth, Bea and Silfay from 1L.

Mrs Samantha Webster

Assistant Head Teaching and Learning

Summary of the volunteering work from the First Year

· 919 pairs of shoes donated by the pupils and families of Caterham School were unpacked and sorted by type.

· 469 pairs of Sal’s Shoes were itemised and packed for children living in Lebanon.

· 174 pairs of new summer footwear donated by a retailer were unpacked and sorted by size and type ready to be stored for next summer when they will be distributed by baby banks here in the U.K. supporting families with children aged 0-16

· 154 pairs of winter footwear were sized and packed ready to send out to children in need here in the U.K.

· 848 items of old style branded PE kit donated by the PA from Caterham Pre-Prep and Prep were sorted, counted and packed. These have all found their new owners in Ghana at a sports academy for young people.

· 140 Clemie’s Clothes fancy dress outfits and accessories were sorted, itemised and packed for pre schoolers in Ghana – these have now arrived and will be distributed before Christmas.

· 205 Christmas presents were wrapped and labelled as part of Sal’s Shoes annual Christmas collaboration with Spread Some Sunshine. These will be opened on Christmas day by children here in the U.K:

o at St Helier’s hospital in Sutton.

o at Naomi House which offers respite, end of life care and bereavement support for seriously ill children, young adults and their families in Winchester.

o And locally to children in Surrey living at one of three I Choose Freedom refuges for women and children fleeing severe domestic abuse, being supported by Their Voice who are devoted to supporting families and individuals who have faced the horrors of modern slavery and human trafficking.

A total of *2,909* children will have had a positive impact made on their lives thanks to the efforts of the First Years and their 2 hour volunteering sessions. The most precious gift you can give someone is their time, and the entire year group rallied to work passionately and efficiently so as to maximise