Eton Students Raise £32,000 for Charities at 2024 Eton Action Fair
On Saturday, 14 September, at the largest and most successful Eton Action Fair to date, hundreds of Eton students entertained more than 3000 visitors with games, music and amusements, raising a whopping £32,000 for charity, a record in the Fair’s history.
Boys from every boarding house plus sport teams and student societies took part, in a spirit of friendly rivalry, to see which group could raise the most for good causes. For a nominal fee, visitors could try their luck at cup pong, enjoy crepes made to order by boys, throw a wet sponge at a King’s Scholar at the “Soak a KS” stall, take on a young Etonian at chess, or watch a student wrestle a teacher - both in comical inflatable wrestling suits. The Eton College Boat Club hosted a challenge for visitors to beat the time of an Olympic rower on a rowing machine, and the Environmental Action stall featured a game in which visitors had to land a disk in a model frog’s mouth for the chance to win an edible prize.
The Fair offered more than 140 stalls, many from local producers of high-quality crafts and healthy foods, as well as rides and a farm animal petting space for young children. With musical performances by Eton students and local performers throughout the day, the Fair was non-stop fun, and all for the benefit of this year’s five Eton Action official charities, voted in by Eton students. Those five charities are:
Restart Africa - Restart Africa works to save abused, abandoned and desperate children in Kenya. They offer street children from Gilgil a haven from homelessness, violence and drugs, by providing a home at The Centre, and rehabilitating, educating and inspiring the children and young people to find self-respect, security and hope.
Slough Refugee Support - Slough Refugee Support helps 150+ refugees and asylum seekers in Slough and the Thames Valley each year, giving advice, legal support, help to access work, health and education services, plus sewing classes with a creche.
Rainbow Trust - This charity cares for families of children with life-limiting or life- threatening conditions, providing a Family Support Worker to assist families struggling with the huge burden of looking after a seriously ill child.
Campaign Against Living Miserably - CALM is a mental health charity dedicated to reducing suicides amongst young people. They offer support and resources to help people who are feeling suicidal and those grieving a loved one has committed suicide.
BEAT - About 1.25 million people in the UK suffer with eating illnesses and BEAT runs a National Helpline to encourage and empower people to get help quickly. Their work saves lives and enables people to live free from eating disorders.
Written by Thomas G. Year 12