Gymboree certainly know how to put the ‘fun’ into fundraising!

An imaginary skydive, winning a gold medal and baking a cake for a party through song?

Gymboree sites across the UK have been fundraising since September 2011 for our chosen charity, the world-renowned children’s hospital, Great Ormond Street children’s Hospital, with the aim of raising £10,000 to purchase a crucial piece of equipment that treats little patients with abnormal heart rhythms. We don’t like just meeting targets at Gymboree, we love to smash them and have raised an incredible £12,285.44!

To thousands of children all over the UK and in over 30 other countries across the globe, Gymbo the Clown is the soft, smiley, all-dancing mascot of Gymboree’s interactive and exciting classes for 0-5 years. This year, however, they saw a whole new side to Gymbo – as he was involved in so many fundraising events in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity!

Parties and events around the UK have raised thousands, including over £2000 donated after the owners and a teacher at Gymboree Brighton ran the Brighton Half Marathon in February and the Gymboree UK director braved the London Marathon dressed as Gymbo himself.

Gymboree staff and members have been dancing, singing, baking, throwing raffles and partying for the cause over the past year, with Superheroes and Princesses partying it up one day, Halloween fancy dress parties spreading (un)happiness on another, festive carols and celebrations and lots of Valentines events sharing the love and helping to ‘kiss it better’. Some of our brave Gymboree teachers took part in a Skydive and parents who’d forgotten to bring socks to wear in class have made donations to borrow socks and that’s all added up too!

A super special event filled with fun was held at our master Gymboree site in Surbiton to handover our fundraising efforts to the charity. We were joined by Debbie Goddard from the Community Fundraising Team at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, who came along to our Level 6 Play & Learn class. The class theme was ‘Gymboree’s fundraising efforts’ and involved a morning of imaginary skydiving, running the London Marathon and travelling on the party bus to a Gymboree fundraising party. We also baked a cake and danced with Gymbo the clown! During our fun and fabulous parachute time we handed Debbie an over sized cheque which some of the Gymboree art class children made!

Debbie said, “We would like to thank Gymboree for all their support in 2012 and choosing us to benefit from their fundraising. The money will help us continue to work with children across the UK and indeed the world, with serious and often life threatening conditions. Great Ormond Street Hospital is a world-class children’s hospital, with the broadest range of paediatric specialists under one roof anywhere in the UK. The hospital welcome around 200,000 patient visits each year, treating patients with the most complex, life-threatening or life-limiting conditions We need to raise £50 million every year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, buy vital equipment and fund pioneering research. We would like to thank Gymboree and all their staff for supporting us; we couldn’t do it without you.”

Gymboree Managing Director, Susannah Alexander says “I am delighted that our members and our team have raised so much money for GOSH and have had so much fun in the process. It’s a win-win!”

For more information please contact: Jo Keaveney, PA/Administrator, Gymboree UK

jo@gymboree-uk.com, 0208 288 9727, www.gymboree-uk.com.