Benefits of being our partner

If you choose Befriend a Child as your charity partner you will be helping to ensure that we can continue supporting children and young people facing difficult life circumstances across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. You will not only be helping to raise funds, but you will be increasing awareness about our programmes and projects which can result in an increase in volunteer sign ups. Our volunteers are vital for the work that we do. Through providing a positive adult role model and positive life experiences our volunteers help children and young people build confidence and self-esteem as well as develop new life interests and skills. In time this can have a transformational effect. Most importantly they allow them to be a child. As our partner you will be helping to turn frowns upside down.

We provide a concise 20-minute presentation for companies who would like to know more about our work, we would be delighted to share this with your workplace, this can be held at a lunch time or a time that suits you. Ahead of the presentation we will also send our charity overview and annual report, so that your team can learn more about us. Our team are available for meetings at your convenience and have worked on a range of fundraising campaigns which we can tailor to your teams fundraising interests, budgets, and targets. You will also receive our quarterly newsletter which includes details about volunteering opportunities, fundraising ideas, and information about our upcoming events. In addition to this our partners are always contacted first about sponsorship opportunities for some of our biggest events.

Charity Of the Year

Charity of the Year is a fantastic initiative which can make a huge difference to Befriend a Child. It not only helps to raise vital funds, but it also spreads awareness about our programmes and projects. We are delighted that several of our volunteers became befrienders or mentors because of us being selected as their company’s charity partner.

If you would like to nominate us for your charity of the year, please email [email protected] and a member of the fundraising team will be in touch to provide you with our charity overview and our annual report which highlights the impact of our work. We are also available to provide a lunch and learn so that your team can get to know us ahead of a potential nomination. If successfully nominated, we will invite you into the office to show you are facilities and discuss how we can best work together. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a range of companies.

Employee fundraising

Does your work want to fundraise for a charity? Would they like to fundraise for Befriend a Child but do not know where to start? Are you concerned that your office might not be able to balance fundraising with their busy work schedules?

Office fundraising does not need to be complicated. It can range from simply buying a large box of chocolate bars from Costco and asking for people to make a £2 donation when they take a chocolate to having a zoom office quiz and asking your colleagues to donate if they enjoyed taking part. You could even have a virtual bake off, the best part is if you are not in the office, you will not have to share your home bakes.

Alternatively, your team may be looking to take on a challenge together. There are a large selection of sponsored events that we can share with you. Whether you are a team who like to swim, cycle, run or go for long walks we have a range of options that can carried be out together on a specified day at an organised event or over a longer period of time at your own convenience. Our 5K a Day for the Month of May is the perfect fit for teams who want to cheer each other on but would like to take on a challenge in their own time.

The fundraising team at Befriend a Child are here to answer all your questions. Please get in touch by emailing [email protected] and our experienced team can provide you with a range of ideas to suit your team.

Gifts in kind

We are always so grateful to receive gifts in kind. If you would like to donate a prize for one our upcoming events or for us to raffle off as a fundraiser, please do get in touch.

You may also wish to give the gift of a Christmas present. Befriend a Child’s Giving Tree Appeal happens every year, it is a simple idea which ensures that the children we support receive presents to open on Christmas morning and adventures to look forward to. If you choose to take part, you will be asked how many present tags and how many donation tags that you would like. These tags will ask for presents for a mixture of ages. Employees can then choose to select either a present tag which means that they will buy a physical gift for the age of the child on the tag or a donation tag which means that they will donate towards an experience for a child. We also have the option for companies to take part virtually through our Giving Tree site. On This site employees can purchase a gift for a child we support through our Amazon Wishlist or they can make a donation through our Giving Tree JustGiving page. All presents that are donated to us are classified as gift in kind.

For more information on donating a gift in kind or to sign up to this year’s Giving Tree Appeal please email [email protected].

Payroll giving

Give As You Earn is a very simple way to support Befriend a Child. You can either set up a monthly donation through your workplace payroll or through our Just Giving page. We understand that we are living in difficult times so there is no limit on the minimum amount you can donate, we are just thankful for your support. Please contact us directly at [email protected] if you would like to set up a Give As You Earn. Your donations will help ensure a brighter future for the children we support.