Rule Britannia party raises £15,000 for Pigs4Kids campaign to help Swiss Cottage school

Fundraisers at the Rule Britannia party earlier this month.

by Tim Lamden Monday, February 11, 2013
7:04 PM

A group of friends who threw a party for 600 revellers in aid of a Swiss Cottage special school have raised a staggering £15,000.

How to get your Pigs4Kids piggy bank:

1. Collect a pig from Swiss Cottage School Development and Research Centre, the Ham&High’s office, the O2 Centre’s management offices OR email info@pigs4kids.org to request a pig and we will post one to you.

2. Put the pig in a prominent place in your home or in your place of business, learning or worship

When your pig is full:

1. Return it to one of the collection points.

2. If it’s more convenient, count what you have collected and post a cheque for the amount to Friends of Swiss Cottage School, 80 Avenue Road, London, NW8 6HX

3. Make an online donation at our JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/fscs

4. Make an online donation on our website at www.pigs4kids.org

5. Make a text donation by texting PIGS04 to 70070

The Rule Britannia-themed party, held in a photographer’s studio in Wapping, East London, on February 2 raised the single-largest amount yet for the Ham&High’s Pigs4Kids campaign.

Our campaign to support the new Swiss Cottage School Development and Research Centre, in Adelaide Road, aims to raise £60,000 to help fund the state-of-the-art development and research centre.

The donation of nearly £15,000 was spearheaded by a group of 24 party planners, led by Victor Lee - the son of Pigs4Kids chairman Marsha Lee.

Raised through donations from some of the 600 who attended the party earlier this month, the astounding amount accounts for exactly a quarter of the Ham&High’s £60,000 target.

Joel Shamash, 26, a friend of Mr Lee’s and one of the party planners, said: “We just told people ‘we are paying for the party and we want you to have fun’ but whatever you would spend on a Saturday night, donate to the charity.”

The Rule Britannia party required guests to don costumes related to all things British and it seems there was no shortage of imagination.

“I was dressed as William Wallace from Braveheart, someone else was Freddie Mercury, there was a John Lennon and we had Beefeaters,” said Mr Shamash.

The party organisers, many of whom grew up near to the Swiss Cottage school site and helped with charity efforts to fund the new school’s construction, paid a visit to the impressive new facilities before throwing the party earlier this month.

“We had a tour of the school and it was a really insightful and inspirational morning,” said Mr Shamash.

“When we met with the principal and the staff we said it would be great if we could have a target that we could aim for and they told us about a flat where pupils could spend one night a week to develop independence.

“They said that to furnish it, it would cost about £7500. So we’ve doubled that original target which is fantastic!”

So far, our campaign has attracted the support of a number of local businesses and high-profile personalities, including education secretary Michael Gove and film star Kevin Spacey.