Birthday fundraising through Facebook
More party invitations. More pass the parcel. More bedside discos. Your birthday celebration can help give seriously ill children the best chance and the best childhood possible.
By asking your Facebook friends for donations rather than presents on your birthday, you can raise vital funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) and help more kids reach their own milestones.
How to set up a Facebook birthday fundraiser
All the money raised for GOSH Charity through Facebook Fundraisers comes directly to the charity and helps to make a very real difference to the patients, families and staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
It couldn’t be easier to set up your own birthday Facebook Fundraiser for GOSH Charity:
- Log in to your Facebook account
- Click ‘Fundraisers’ in the left-hand menu of your main news feed
- Click ‘Select Charity’ and select ‘Great Ormond Street Hospital and Children’s Charity ‘
- Decide how much money you’d like to try and raise
- Pick an end date for your fundraiser
- Give your fundraiser a title, such as ‘Martin’s birthday fundraiser for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity’
- Tell your friends and family why you’ve chosen to support us
- Pick a cover photo – you can use one of ours or upload your own
- Click ‘Create’ and invite your friends
Harley’s birthday
“The one thing he asked for was to feel better on his big day.”
Harley was eight yeas old when his mum, Rachael, noticed something wasn’t right. After tests at the local hospital, doctors confirmed that Harley had leukaemia and he was transferred to GOSH. “Just like that, it felt like a comet hitting you,” Rachael says.
During his treatment, Harley spent his 10th birthday at GOSH. “The one thing he asked for, for his birthday, was that he wanted to feel better on his big day. That’s all he kept saying,” Rachael says.
“At midnight the whole team of nurses came in playing the Happy Birthday song! They had a big happy birthday banner and messages from all the nurses. It was really emotional for me but Harley just had the biggest smile on his face. They went above and beyond just to make him feel really special. To burst in his room for five minutes like that, singing to him, was a memory that will stay with me forever.”
Finally, Harley was able to ring the end of treatment bell, marking the completion of his inpatient treatment at GOSH. “All the nurses that had provided his care through the toughest times were there to congratulate him. That was quite emotional and the fact that we were going home that day was so significant,” reflects Rachael.
Since going home, Harley and his family have been able to celebrate even more big and small moments together – from family holidays to winning at snooker.
