Spread festive cheer at your school this Christmas with Weldmar’s first ever Reindeer Dash!
Bring your pupils together this Christmas by taking part in Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash! A fun, festive fundraising event where pupils can run, walk or skip, all wearing a pair of reindeer antlers (and with a member of staff dressed up as Santa!).
Whether your pupils dash around the playground, follow a festive route around your school grounds, or take part in a way that works best for your pupils, every step they take will help make a difference to local people who are experiencing a life limiting illness and their families across Dorset.
Your school can choose a date that works best for you during November or December, giving you the flexibility to plan your Reindeer Dash around your school calendar and other Christmas activities. The antlers and Santa suit are supplied by Weldmar. We can also hand deliver donation envelopes for all participating children, and happy to talk more about the Reindeer Dash in an assembly, if you’d like.
There’s a suggested minimum sponsorship of just £5 per pupil.
Why take part?
By joining Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash, your school will:
- Take part in a fun, inclusive Christmas activity suitable for all abilities.
- Have an opportunity to put kindness, community and making a difference into action.
- Receive a range of resources and support to make organising your Reindeer Dash simple.
- Celebrate every pupil’s achievement with a certificate and finishers sticker.
Most importantly, you’ll be helping Weldmar continue providing compassionate care and support to local people when they need it most.
What’s included?
When your school registers for Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash, you’ll receive everything you need to plan, promote and deliver your festive fundraising event.
You’ll get access to our Schools Toolkit, which includes:
- A simple Event Guide with ideas and suggestions to make the most of taking part
- Suggested copy for a letter to parents and guardians
- A printable colouring-in activity sheet
- Social media resources to help promote your event
- Printable participant certificates to celebrate pupils completing their Reindeer Dash
For your Reindeer Dash event, you’ll receive:
- Festive Fundraising Tracker – an interactive poster where you can celebrate your fundraising success
- Sponsorship form envelopes for all participating pupils
- Reindeer antlers for every participating pupil
- One Santa Suit for lead teacher
- Weldmar cash collection box
- Finish line ribbon
- Finishers stickers
- 10 medals to award to the school’s top fundraisers
Our Fundraising Team will be on hand throughout your fundraising journey to provide advice, support and guidance whenever you need it.
How it works – six simple steps!
- Register your school using our online registration form.
- Get access to the online Schools’ Toolkit, full of resources to help you plan and promote your Reindeer Dash.
- Set up your school’s JustGiving fundraising page – we’ll send you everything you need to get started, including a link to create your fundraising page. This makes it easy for parents, families and friends to support your pupils’ fundraising.
- Book in your Weldmar Reindeer Dash launch assembly, and we’ll bring along sponsor form envelopes as a fundraising option.
- Complete your Reindeer Dash – whether your pupils choose to run, walk or skip!
- Celebrate your pupils’ achievements and the difference your fundraising has made.
More useful information
Who can take part in Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash?
Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash is open to schools, clubs and children’s groups across Dorset. The event is designed to be fun and inclusive for all ages and abilities, with organisers able to choose a format that works best for their group.
Whether you’re a school, community group or youth organisation, everyone is welcome to take part and help raise vital funds for Weldmar Hospicecare.
When can we hold our Reindeer Dash?
Schools can choose a date that works best for them, with events taking place from the end of November throughout December. This allows schools to fit the event around their Christmas activities and school calendar.
What does the Reindeer Dash involve?
The Reindeer Dash is a fun festive challenge where pupils can run, walk or skip their way through a route or activity chosen by their school. This could be laps of the playground, a route around the school grounds or another format that works best for your pupils.
How much does it cost to take part?
There is no registration fee to take part in Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash. We suggest a minimum sponsorship target of £5 per pupil, but every pupil can take part regardless of how much they raise.
What resources will our school receive?
You’ll receive access to an online Schools’ Toolkit with everything you need to plan and promote your Reindeer Dash. This includes:
- A simple Event Guide with ideas and suggestions to make the most of taking part
- Suggested copy for a letter to parents and guardians
- A printable colouring-in activity sheet
- Social media resources to help promote your event
- Printable participant certificates to celebrate pupils completing their Reindeer Dash
For your Reindeer Dash event, you’ll receive:
- Festive Fundraising Tracker – an interactive poster where you can celebrate your fundraising success
- Sponsorship form envelopes for all participating pupils
- Reindeer antlers for every participating pupil
- One Santa Suit for lead teacher
- Weldmar cash collection box
- Finish line ribbon
- Finishers stickers
- 10 medals to award to the school’s top fundraisers
How do we collect sponsorship?
Once your school registers for Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash, you’ll get access to the online Schools Toolkit. This includes a link for you to easily set up your school’s JustGiving page.
Your page gives your whole school community one place to come together, make donations and follow your fundraising progress.
Pupils who would like to take their fundraising further can also create their own individual JustGiving pages, linked to the school page (we can help show you how to do this). This gives them the opportunity to share their fundraising with friends and family while contributing towards the school’s overall total raised for Weldmar
Don’t worry — individual fundraising pages are completely optional. Every pupil is welcome to take part, whether they raise sponsorship or simply enjoy completing the Reindeer Dash challenge.
For those who prefer to collect cash donations, sponsor form envelopes will be provided for all pupils to take home to ask family and friends to support them in their fundraising efforts.
Will Weldmar visit our school?
To help get your pupils excited for their Reindeer Dash, a member of our fundraising team can visit your school to deliver a fun and engaging assembly ahead of your event. This will be on a first come, first served basis!
The assembly will introduce pupils to the Reindeer Dash, explain how they can get involved, and build excitement for their festive challenge.
As part of the session, pupils will also learn more about Weldmar Hospicecare in an age-appropriate way, including how their fundraising will help support local patients and families across Dorset.
It’s a great opportunity to bring the event to life, help pupils understand the difference they are making and get everyone ready to spread some festive cheer!
How do we register our school?
Simply complete the online registration form. Once registered, we’ll send you everything you need to get started, including information on setting up your JustGiving page and your fundraising resources.
Celebrating Fundraising Achievements
We want to celebrate the incredible efforts of pupils taking part in Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash. Each school will have the opportunity to recognise their top ten fundraisers, who will receive a special Reindeer Dash medal as a thank you for their enthusiasm, dedication and support.
Every pupil who takes part will be helping to make a difference, and every contribution will be celebrated with a finishers sticker and certificate which will be available to print in the school downloadable fundraising pack.
When we have all your donations totalled up we will also provide each school with a certificate to display to pupils and parents to celebrate their amazing achievement.
Ready to get involved?
Join schools across Dorset this Christmas and take part in Weldmar’s Reindeer Dash.
Register your school today and help make a difference to local patients and families supported by Weldmar Hospicecare.
Sign up today using the registration form below.
If you have any questions, our Community Fundraising Team would love to hear from you.
Email: fundraisers@weld-hospice.org.uk
Telephone: 01305 261800
