The DinoDay ChallengeJoin the DinoDay Challenge and make special memories with your family while raising vital funds for Contact. The DinoDay Challenge is our annual event to raise funds and awareness. Every donation helps provide vital support services to families of children with disabilities and additional needs. Kids across the country will be taking on exciting challenges, proudly wearing their FREE DinoDay t-shirts. It’s a fun, inclusive way for families to get involved while supporting an important cause. We’d love for you to join in! There’s no fundraising target – just pick any challenge inspired by the number 19 and take it on with your family. We’ll send you your FREE t-shirt, printed activity tracker, and invite you to join our Challenge Facebook group where you’ll meet other families taking part. DinoDay Challenge registrations will open at the end of April – sign up below to be the first to know when it’s time to roar into action! PRE-REGISTER Hosting DinoDay at your school, nursery or community groupGet the children involved by encouraging them to wear green or dress as their favourite dinosaur in exchange for a small donation. We’ve also created a series of fun dinosaur-themed activities to help make the day a roaring success, while raising awareness of disability.REGISTER YOUR INTEREST Making memories together It’s not just about raising funds or spreading the word about Contact – it’s also a wonderful way for families to spend quality time together. Last year, we asked parents what they loved most about taking part in the challenge, and here’s what they shared: “Getting out and about on adventures and making memories”“Seeing my son helping others”“Bonding time, making time every day after school or at the weekend to do a special subject for a special cause”“Finding lots of new places to explore” What 19 activities will you choose? Last year, we were amazed by the creativity of our little dinosaurs who took on unique challenges to raise funds for our vital services. Here are some of our favourites: Doing 19 acts of kindness Trying to learn a new ‘Just Dance’ video routine over 19 days Learning to hula-hoop in 19 days Trying 19 new foods (a tough feat for those with sensory issues!) Reading and reviewing 19 dino-themed books Do any of these sound like something your child would enjoy? If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry! Once you register, we’ll send plenty of ideas and fundraising tips to inspire you. Meet some of our previous DinoDay superstars! ZiggyAfter spending most of his life being tube-fed and completely orally averse, Ziggy’s parents challenged him to try 19 new foods for DinoDay last year and he absolutely smashed it!!His family were really struggling to motivate Ziggy to eat a wider range of foods, so our challenge came at the perfect time for them.“Every day Ziggy would say to us: ‘So what’s my new food today!’,” his mum Jackie told us. “He loved doing the challenge, and it was wonderful to see just how much support he received from our family and friends. He did so well and talked about it at school for weeks! We are so proud of him and grateful to you for the inspiration.” ImogenThis little superhero is autistic and has ADHD. Sitting still and concentrating was never her strong suit – that is, until she decided to colour in 19 different dinosaur drawings.With her crayons on hand and dino toys on guard, the difference was like night and day: Imogen dedicated 110% of her attention to completing the challenge and raised an incredible £680 for Contact!“Thank you for bringing our little girl out of her shell and making her shine” – Laura, Imogen’s mum. EvelynAt just 20 months old, Evelyn’s DinoDay t-shirt was nearly touching the floor, but that didn’t stop her from stomping round 19 laps of a gigantic pond and raising over £300!Evelyn’s mum told us. “We decided on walking 19 laps of our local parks duck pond – it was a big challenge for our one year old’s little legs, but she managed to complete the laps and enjoyed every minute of the walk and of course feeding the ducks!” The inspiration behind the DinoDay Challenge The inspiration behind the DinoDay Challenge is Cameron Mathieson. Cameron had both Cystic Fibrosis and Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy and sadly passed away when he was five years old after spending over two years in hospital. At that time, children who spent over 12 weeks in hospital lost their Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Here at Contact, we supported the Mathieson family’s legal challenge to this unfair rule. With our support, the family won their case at the Supreme Court and since then, no other family with a child who spends long periods in hospital has been denied this essential financial support. Cameron, who was born on 19 June, loved dinosaurs – or as he called them, Dowsers. His favourite Dowser was Troy, a green triceratops! The money also helps us campaign to tackle the inequalities that families with disabled children face, like we did for Cameron Mathieson’s family and thousands of others since. Get in touch For more information about the DinoDay Challenge or to ask any questions you may have about fundraising for Contact, please email [email protected]. DinoDay Challenge registrations will open at the end of April – sign up below to be the first to know when it’s time to roar into action! PRE-REGISTER ShareCopy URLCopied!Share via EmailShare via FacebookShare via TwitterShare via WhatsAppShare via LinkedIn
Hosting DinoDay at your school, nursery or community groupGet the children involved by encouraging them to wear green or dress as their favourite dinosaur in exchange for a small donation. We’ve also created a series of fun dinosaur-themed activities to help make the day a roaring success, while raising awareness of disability.REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
Meet some of our previous DinoDay superstars! ZiggyAfter spending most of his life being tube-fed and completely orally averse, Ziggy’s parents challenged him to try 19 new foods for DinoDay last year and he absolutely smashed it!!His family were really struggling to motivate Ziggy to eat a wider range of foods, so our challenge came at the perfect time for them.“Every day Ziggy would say to us: ‘So what’s my new food today!’,” his mum Jackie told us. “He loved doing the challenge, and it was wonderful to see just how much support he received from our family and friends. He did so well and talked about it at school for weeks! We are so proud of him and grateful to you for the inspiration.” ImogenThis little superhero is autistic and has ADHD. Sitting still and concentrating was never her strong suit – that is, until she decided to colour in 19 different dinosaur drawings.With her crayons on hand and dino toys on guard, the difference was like night and day: Imogen dedicated 110% of her attention to completing the challenge and raised an incredible £680 for Contact!“Thank you for bringing our little girl out of her shell and making her shine” – Laura, Imogen’s mum. EvelynAt just 20 months old, Evelyn’s DinoDay t-shirt was nearly touching the floor, but that didn’t stop her from stomping round 19 laps of a gigantic pond and raising over £300!Evelyn’s mum told us. “We decided on walking 19 laps of our local parks duck pond – it was a big challenge for our one year old’s little legs, but she managed to complete the laps and enjoyed every minute of the walk and of course feeding the ducks!”
ZiggyAfter spending most of his life being tube-fed and completely orally averse, Ziggy’s parents challenged him to try 19 new foods for DinoDay last year and he absolutely smashed it!!His family were really struggling to motivate Ziggy to eat a wider range of foods, so our challenge came at the perfect time for them.“Every day Ziggy would say to us: ‘So what’s my new food today!’,” his mum Jackie told us. “He loved doing the challenge, and it was wonderful to see just how much support he received from our family and friends. He did so well and talked about it at school for weeks! We are so proud of him and grateful to you for the inspiration.”
ImogenThis little superhero is autistic and has ADHD. Sitting still and concentrating was never her strong suit – that is, until she decided to colour in 19 different dinosaur drawings.With her crayons on hand and dino toys on guard, the difference was like night and day: Imogen dedicated 110% of her attention to completing the challenge and raised an incredible £680 for Contact!“Thank you for bringing our little girl out of her shell and making her shine” – Laura, Imogen’s mum.
EvelynAt just 20 months old, Evelyn’s DinoDay t-shirt was nearly touching the floor, but that didn’t stop her from stomping round 19 laps of a gigantic pond and raising over £300!Evelyn’s mum told us. “We decided on walking 19 laps of our local parks duck pond – it was a big challenge for our one year old’s little legs, but she managed to complete the laps and enjoyed every minute of the walk and of course feeding the ducks!”
ShareCopy URLCopied!Share via EmailShare via FacebookShare via TwitterShare via WhatsAppShare via LinkedIn