ITV's Born to Shine raises £2.1m for Save the Children
Howard Lake | 21 November 2011 | News
ITV’s Born to Shine series has raised over £2.1 million for Save the Children. The six-week series, hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky, was inspired by Save the Children’s No Child Born to Die campaign and involved talented children mentoring celebrities in new skills.
The grand final in August saw comedian Jason Manford crowned the winner for his operatic performance alongside his child mentor, 14 year old George Clark from Truro, Cornwall. He beat actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, actor/director Nick Moran, rugby player Gareth Thomas and Emmerdale stars Tony Audenshaw and Lesley Dunlop to the title.
The total funds raised include aid donated by the government as part of its new UK Aid Match Scheme which was launched shortly before the show aired. The scheme involves the Government matching funds donated by the public to charity appeals for projects in developing countries and gives the British public a say in how part of the aid budget is spent. This resulted in over £500,000 in government aid which will support Save the Children’s health and hunger work in Niger and Liberia.
Donations for Save the Children during Born to Shine were given by SMS, online and by phone.
The show also secured corporate supporters. Morrisons were the exclusive retail partner for sales of Save the Children’s Born to Shine Glow Bands. Over 2,000 staff from Lloyds Banking Group volunteered to staff the phones taking donations for their Charity of the Year. Bus and rail operator FirstGroup donated advertising space worth £150,000 on its buses nationwide.
www.savethechildren.org.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.