Take on The 2.6 Challenge

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on fundraising events, many of which have had to be cancelled or postponed.

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Here at The Children’s Trust, we care for children with severe brain injury and neurodisability. They are extremely vulnerable, and we cannot afford to let them down. We must continue our specialist care during these uncertain times – and our dedicated key workers are working round the clock to meet the children’s complex needs. 

But we can’t do this alone. Just as the children need us to be there for them right now, we need you.  

Sunday 26 April would have seen thousands of participants taking part in the 40th Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money for their chosen causes but now, instead, the day will now be marked by The 2.6 Challenge!  

The 2.6 Challenge is a nationwide fundraising event to help make up for the fundraising shortfall we, and many other charities up and down the country, are facing as a result of this ongoing crisis. It’s your chance to get involved, get creative and make a huge difference for children with brain injury and neurodisability.  

Taking part is simple, you just need to set up an online giving page or make a donation, choose an activity based around the numbers 26 or 2.6 (don’t worry if you’re stuck, we have lots of ideas for you to pick from – read on for more!) that you can complete starting on Sunday 26 April and invite your family and friends to donate. 

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Find out more about the #TwoPointSixChallenge

There are no rules on how to take part – apart from the Government guidelines on how to exercise safely during this time - and anyone can take on the challenge. 

You can go it alone, with housemates, all the family, friends, classmates, colleagues. Get active, creative and have fun! 

All money raised will go towards our urgent special appeal. We need you to help see us through this emergency. 

 

How your fundraising helps

 

£2.60  Could fund ingredients for the children to do some baking with the play team 
£26  Could fund a jigsaw puzzle, audio books and films to keep children engaged in activity while in isolation 
£26  Could fund pot plants and window decorations for a child's room, for those children who are shielding we want to make their rooms as interesting and as nicely decorated as possible 
£260  Could fund arts and crafts and sensory items like feathers and glitter to keep the children entertained and as happy as possible during isolation  
£2,600  Could fund 5 ipads which will allow children to stay connected with their families while in isolation  
£2,600  Could fund 1,000 visors for clinical staff  
26,000 We need 26,000 aprons as part of staff PPE to shield children over the next three months, 26,000 aprons would cost £10,400 
£26,000 Could fund three months' worth of face masks, a much-needed layer of protection to protect children from infection  

 

Family fundraising activities

family

 

Movie Magic 

Get creative and make your own 26 second stop motion animation.  Ask people to make a donation for tickets and screen it for your family or distribute it digitally. All you need is your imagination some toys or drawings and a smartphone or tablet loaded with one of the free stop-motion apps out there. 

Great British Bake Off   

This competition is all about the looks. Find 26 wannabe bakers to enter a virtual Great British Bake off which will be judged completely on presentation rather than taste. Charge per entry, pick a theme and then judge photographs of the entries.  

Build your own escape room 

Build your own escape room in one of the rooms in your house. Set a series of puzzles (such as riddles, homemade jigsaws or memory games) with each leading to the next clue and eventually to the final secret phrase which needs to be said to be allowed out. Prop up a phone in the corner of the escape room so the rest of the family can offer tips on the puzzles via video call. If the contestant escapes within 26 minutes you pay a penalty to their donation page, but if they remain stuck in the room it is the failed escapee that must stump up. 

The putting-away relay  

Put a basket of clean, dry, laundry in the front room. Contestants take an item of clothing, fold it, run to place it outside the room of whoever it belongs to and race back to the front room. Whoever delivers the most items wins. 

Pictionary or Charades 

It’s simple to make your own homemade game. What’s better is that you can personalise it any way you want to. First, you will need to make a few note cards with the topics on that you’re going to play with. These cards will be drawn, and teammates will have to guess what’s written on it. 

Song Challenge 

Can you write a 26 second rap or sing 26 songs in 26 minutes and share with friends and family? 

 

Are you super-sporty and want a physical challenge to take on? 

sports

 

The Lycra Challenge 

How quickly can you get your fitness gear on? Do you reckon 26 seconds is enough time to leap into your Lycra? It’ll certainly be entertaining enough for your friends to watch you try! Have a go, film yourself, share far and wide and nominate your fitness buddies to have a go, and donate! (whatever you normally wear under your Lycra, we recommend a covering underlayer to prevent any exposure!)  

Climb a Mountain  

An Teallach in Scotland is the 26th tallest mountain in the British Isles, with its peak standing at 1,062 metres. Your challenge is to climb it. From home. With the average domestic staircase taking you up just over 3.5 metres, you’ll need to ascend 300 of them to equal the towering elevation of this majestic peak – maybe split the distance with your household and get sponsored to complete it. Do make sure you’re up to the task first, though, and take it at a steady pace – apparently mountain rescue teams object to being called out to people’s staircases during a lockdown! 

The Box Hill Bonanza 

Did you know Box Hill is the most popular cycling hill climb in the world, according to Strava? It’s also just down the road from The Children’s Trust’s National Specialist Centre! We might not be able to cycle the real thing while in lockdown, but we've got an even better challenge for you! If you’ve got a turbo trainer at home, then see how many times you can do the Box Hill climb in 2 hours and 6 mins. Now that will get your legs working! A physical challenge that’s certainly worth your friends donating to, and why not challenge your cycling mates to try it as well? Let us know your score if you do it, and we’ll create a leaderboard and crown the Box Hill 2.6 champion at the end of the challenge. 

26 Sports in a day 

How inventive could you be at re-creating 26 sports in one day, all from your home. Re-enact your most glorious triathlon moment; not in the pool but perhaps front crawl on a skateboard, hitch a piggy back from someone in your household who might be able to stand in for your trusty bike, and is the finish line the doorway to your kitchen with a feast fit for a triathlete within? Film your efforts, share and ask friends and family to donate for your efforts.  

Just some of the sports you could attempt to re-create: 

  • Swimming 
  • Cycling 
  • Skiing 
  • Climbing 
  • Canoeing 
  • Bowling 
  • Sailing 
  • Surfing 
  • Skating  

Take part in the #TwoPointSixChallenge

Find out more

Get involved as a business or team 

team

 

Get your colleagues involved, help reconnect the team when you’re all missing seeing each other in the office every day, all the while raising money for children with brain injury!  

Who’s Who? 

Get 26 colleagues to share a baby photo with you, send them around to the whole team and ask everyone to make a donation to enter the competition to guess who’s who. Award a virtual prize to the person who guesses most correctly! (people who have submitted can enter too, they just get deducted one point for being able to guess their own correctly)  

Are you craving a coffee? 

Working from home has its pros but are you missing your frothy coffee from the shop by your office? Challenge your colleagues to re-create a fancy coffee in their own home and donate the cost (around £2.60 usually) of the coffee to your donation page. Share pictures, crown a coffee connoisseur!  

The Virtual Portrait  

Do you have an arty streak, or think this could have hilarious consequences? 

Offer your services as a virtual portrait artist, get colleagues to commission a portrait for the very reasonable donation of £2.60. Then enjoy their reactions as they see what you come up with! 

 

Join in with the children at The Children’s Trust

The wonderful young people and children that are being supported by The Children’s Trust are all being invited to take part; here’s how you could join in with them: 

2.6 challenge The Children's Trust

 

Wake up Shakeup!  

Our amazing play team are doing a morning ‘wake up shake up’ class to get everyone moving! Pick your favourite PE move and see if you can do it 26 times!  

26 Makaton signs 

Some of the young people we support use Makaton to communicate. How about you try learning 26 different Makaton signs, make a video of you showing your friends these signs, and ask them to have a go themselves.  

 

And now for something completely different 

How will you take part?

 

The Clothes Commotion Challenge  

How long does it take you to put 26 different items of clothing on? Have a go at speed, film it, challenge your friends to have a go and donate.  

Photographic scavenger hunt   

Either get creative at home or take part whilst doing your daily exercise. Make a list of 26 items for participants to snap on their smartphones on April 26th. Try and include a mixture of easy, medium and hard items. For example (a post-box, sieve or trainer). Charge per entry and the first person to find all the items wins.  

26 questions quiz   

Find our super quiz here: https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/other-support or create your own! Ahaslides.com is a great site for creating easy, multiple choice quizzes that anyone in the world can play on their phone, tablet or computer. It’s free for up to seven players. Charge your participants £2.60 to enter. 

Imagine all the ways you can help

So, what are you waiting for?

Pick your favourite idea or come up with a completely new one! Tag us in any of your social media posts, we can’t wait to see you getting involved! 

If you’re ready to get cracking then click here to set up your JustGiving page and get fundraising.  

Take part now!