Pupils offered campaign cash fund

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/education/6189357.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Schools are being sought for a project offering small cash grants to pupils to run their own charitable campaigns.

Under the Giving Nation Challenge, classes will be given £50 to run short-term campaigns to help others.

One hundred UK schools are being sought by the Citizenship Foundation charity to take part in the project.

The foundation said it would give pupils a chance to see how they could make a meaningful difference within their own communities.

Classes in the selected schools challenge will run their campaigns over five weeks.

They will be able to use the money to kick-start the venture. But they must also recruit students from the rest of the school in support.

At the end, the organisers hope schools will assess the success of the schemes.

Citizenship and enterprise

The project is part of the Citizenship Foundation's Giving Nation Programme which is designed to raise awareness about charitable action, campaigning and volunteering.

It is designed to be part of the citizenship curriculum, fitting in also with enterprise classes.

Thedirector of participation and social action at the Citizenship Foundation, Andy Thornton, said: "Rather than just learning about charities or social action, students will get the opportunity to run a simulation of a real-life organisation through a project they care about."

The foundation is looking for a mix of schools to take part.