Are you going on one of our Tanzanian Immersion trips?

Are you fundraising like you've never fundraised before?

Whether you're selling chocolates to every man and his dog...

or holding donut drives and sausage sizzles...

or spending your nights gathering obscure facts for your upcoming trivia night...

or getting your nanna to knit coat hangers to sell down the bowls club...

WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

Let your enthusiasm inspire others! Email bronwyn@ylead.com.au with a brief update of what you've been doing to raise money for the School of St Jude, and tell us how much you've gathered so far. We'll list them here so that your fundraising efforts can spur on your fellow travellers.

Be creative! Be excited! You're not just going to Africa for three whole weeks... you're helping to change a child's life forever! So don't be afraid to share your successes!

Check out some of these efforts from those going in December 2010 and January 2011:

I have enjoyed fundraising for the school of St Judes so far!! Just to let you know to date I have raised $1076 so far. Firstly I produced a CD with all of my original music compositions with 17 tracks and sold them for $10 each with the label "Aid for St Judes". Also last weekend I held a charity rave at my house charging each person $5 entry. From that night alone I raised $556. All of the other money has come from donations. I have also made several donation boxes that have been placed in a few theatres and shops around our local area (that money hasn't been collected yet). Really happy to hear from you guys! I'll keep you updated on my fundraising!

- Taylor, Shailer Park, Qld

(What an incredible effort Taylor, with some really creative ideas!)

(October update - Last we heard, Taylor had reached $1787! WOW!!)

This weekend Alison did a fundraiser for St Jude's via the local Scout group's sausage sizzle at a local market. Should be about $600 plus!

- Mum and daughter team Nicky & Alison, Bli Bli, Qld

(Actually, it ended up being $724.62! Thanks Alison!)

(October update - Alison just added $191.35 from her fundraising, bringing the total to $915.97!)

I started out by writing letters to businesses/family/friends and sent them all a letter detailing my plans in Tanzania, St Jude's and the youth of Australia's contribution - yLead House! Everybody has responded very positively to the letters and been sending me either cash or cheque donations. It's been very exciting.

- Brittany, Townsville, Qld

(Brittany raised $650 through her letters - thanks Brittany!)

(October update - Brittany has hit the $1000 mark!! How are the rest of you doing??)

The fundraising is going well. So far with the help of family members asking for donations from friends and colleagues at their workplaces I have raised just over $600 which is great. I am planning on baking some cupcakes and cookies and setting up a stall at QUT in the city which is where I study, to try and raise more money. It would be great to reach $1000.

- Samantha, Kelvin Grove, Qld

(Excellent work Samantha - save us a cupcake!)

Just a quick note to let you know that we have now raised $1077, and have a little more to collect over the next week or two. We have been able to raise this money from a chocolate drive, 200 club and running a sweep on the Melbourne cup. Just need to collect money for the “Kili walkathon”. We are very excited about Africa in January!

- Mum and daughter team Debbie & Kristy

(Some great ideas there! Nice work!)

The crew at Chancellor State College (five going to Africa) ran a Trivia Night for staff at their school and through raffles raised $1152.05!

Gemma and her mum Clare arranged for Gemma's school, St Andrew's in Ferny Grove, to hold a Mission Day to raise money. The day was a huge success and included face painting, a cake stall and a craft expo, among other things. They also wrote to local businesses for donations to raffle. In total she raised $1000! Nice work Gemma!

Danielle is organising 'Afro Off for Africa' - her brother Tim is well-known in the community for his big hair, and he's agreed to shave it all off as a fundraiser once she reached her target in donations! To date she's raised $992 and she tells us the 'fro is coming off on Friday!

Robbie has been doing all sorts of things to raise money, including 'bob-a-jobs' for neighbours, buying lollies in bulk and repackaging in smaller bags to sell at school, and sending letters to relatives explaining St Jude's and requesting donations. He also made a speech at his AFL Breakup and passed around a hat. And his very generous Mum and Grandma made lots of rumballs and sold them at work! Collected efforts equalled $531 - nice work!

Daniel has organised local photographer Meichelle Knudsen to come and run a fundraising event at his school, West Moreton Anglican College. For a $15 donation, families will receive a high quality family portrait. They can organise other photo packages too if they like, but all proceeds from the first photo purchase go towards St Jude's. What a great idea! The days have been organised for November, so Daniel will let us know how much he raises.

Ali isn't going on a trip this year, but he collected $505 during Ramadan to go to St Jude's - thanks Ali!

Here's a few more who have done brilliantly with raising money, but haven't told us what they organised. Well done though!

Amanda - $600

Sebastian - $600

Danni'elle - $950

Jessica - $470

Samantha - $600

Matt - $1000

Saxon - $800

Josh - $250

Well done everyone! Great to see that you are off to an incredible start - keep up the good work, and keep letting us know about it. If you're scratching your head for ideas, take a look at the suggestions on these websites which we included in the first information newsletter:

http://www.fundraisingideas.com.au/

http://www.actnow.com.au/Toolkit/Money.aspx