[T]he staff, governors, parents and pupils of Hunter Hall School in Penrith have taken on the huge challenge of raising £75,000 for a new state of the art S.T.E.M (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) facility, which they hope to build in the next two years. On Friday 11th May, they hosted an Auction of Promises as part of their fundraising efforts and raised almost £14,000.
Over 130 people from the area attended the event, which was held at High Barn in Edenhall. Joe Bowman from H&H Auctions kindly offered his services as auctioneer for the evening, with guests bidding on 70 lots from lasagne to holiday cottages; all generously donated to the school from local businesses, parents and friends. Guests were welcomed to the event with canapés, fizz and entertainment from local Eden band Misdemeanours.
Chair of the Parents Group, Natalie who organised the event said: “We were absolutely thrilled to achieve such a staggering figure from the auction evening. It will make such a huge impact on our fundraising efforts and get us one step closer to being able to build the STEM Centre for the pupils of Hunter Hall and the local community.”
With the addition of the money raised at the auction, it brings the school’s fundraising total up to £45,000 so far. Huge support has been shown to the school and the fundraising project from the local community. Many donations have been made and the children have been fundraising in their own unique ways to help lift the total.
As a small, independent school, Hunter Hall is unable to access funding through Government and other potential funding sources and so are reliant on being self-sufficient.
Mrs Vinsome the Head teacher said: “As an independent school everything we do and buy has to be funded by ourselves from a leaking roof down to the pencils. It is an exciting prospect to build this new facility and hopefully share it with the local community and it is wonderful that we are creeping closer to our target each week.”
The aim of the school is to create a bespoke S.T.E.M Centre on the site of an old classroom building thereby further enhancing their facilities to provide a 21st century establishment.
The day following the auction, the school also hosted a Bumps, Baby and Children’s Sale. They had 18 stalls booked, with members of the public selling everything from baby baths to bikes. Money raised from the sale of tables and an entry fee came to £125 which was donated to BLISS the premature baby charity. To date the school has raised over £17 000 for charities both local and national.
If you would like to support the school’s fundraising challenge please contact them on 01768 891291 or donations can be made online at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/hunterhallsciencecentre
