Charities

At Wycombe Abbey, giving support to the community – whether global or close to home – is not an after-thought, but an intrinsic part of School life. Charitable involvement is evident everywhere in the School, from bake sales to support House charities and the Christmas donations of items needed by a local Charity, to large-scale events in aid of the main School charity. Some of the charities we support have been with us since the School's foundation in 1896, while others are chosen each year by the girls themselves. Through their charitable involvement, Wycombe girls become more informed, active and responsible global citizens.

The Charity Committee
Our Charity Committee includes a number of parents and staff and two School Community Concerns Officers. The committee aims to make the School’s giving more personal, tangible and meaningful. Instead of trying to give a little to an infinite variety of worthwhile charities, we want to make a real difference to fewer. Some guidelines have been established to help us do this. We especially appreciate the parents’ involvement and the hard work they put into organising or helping with fundraising events such as the Summer Fete and Bonfire Night.

Foundation Charities
The School still supports our three foundation charities established by Dame Frances Dove. The Peckham Settlement in London is particularly supported by Junior House who entertain elderly people from the charity's community centre with a Christmas concert and lunch. Central Aid supports people in need in High Wycombe and also hosts some community placements undertaken by our UVI. The Melanesian Mission distributes aid in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and has been particularly associated with education in the area. In the past, students from Wycombe have worked there in their gap year. We have a particular link with St Patrick's secondary school in Vanuatu; we are raising money to provide bursaries which will enable some children to continue their education there, and occasionally to send over books and equipment to support the school.

Each term girls contribute a pound's 'Mish Money' which is divided between these charities and funds are also raised through some of our Mufti days.

The Whole School Charity
We have a charity, chosen by the girls every year, which the whole School particularly supports through the Summer Fete, the Family Charity Tennis Tournament, some of the stalls on Bonfire Night and occasional collections within the School.

This year we are supporting the educational work Agape Alive in India, agapealiveinindia.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 1103570. Agape School was founded by a local church in 2002 to support the poor neighbourhoods of Andhra Pradesh in India and has now grown to around 240 children aged between 3 and 11. The aim of the school is to provide a good quality basic education that these children would otherwise not receive. The entry criteria is that the family are unable to pay for education and will ensure that their children attend regularly. Every child is provided with a uniform, shoes, a daily meal, teaching and all associated teaching materials. Alongside the school, basic nursing support is offered to provide both direct care and healthcare education. Our target is to raise £10,500 which will keep the school running for a year

House Charities
House charities are a much loved part of Wycombe life. Each year every House chooses one or two charities to support by holding cake stalls, Chapel collections and other occasional events. These are organised by the House Community Concerns Representatives. The charities chosen reflect a wide range of concerns, both locally and globally, and frequently have an education focus. In keeping with the School policy, such charities tend to be less well known and often there is a personal link with a current or previous pupil or a parent.

Occasional Appeals
Each term there are designated mufti days and these provide an opportunity for donations to be made to foundation charities or disaster appeals. Collections are also made for particular national charity days such as Red Nose Day or the British Legion Poppy Appeal. You may also notice donation buckets at School events such as the Highlights show.

Towards the end of the Autumn term there is a collection of practical items for charity. In the LIV, most students undertake charitable work of their own choice as part of their Dove Award. Our Young Enterprise companies donate a proportion of their profits to charity. There is also an active Amnesty group in School who do a lot to raise our awareness of human rights issues.