JustGiving has partnered with award-winning fundraiser Caroline Jones to create a new podcast focused on fundraising.
What Have I Done? delves into the stories of ten inspirational fundraisers who have to date collectively raised more than one million pounds for charity.
The series is hosted by Caroline, who in 2015, after sadly losing her mother Mary to breast cancer, began her own fundraising journey.
Through her Knickers Model’s Own campaign, where she wore and modelled a different second-hand outfit every single day of the year, Caroline raised over £55,000 for Cancer Research UK.
The title of the show, What Have I Done?, is the question Caroline frequently asked herself during the 12 months of her challenge.
Caroline explained: “Every day, someone, somewhere is doing something amazing. Often driven by grief, emotion, or trauma, they are not doing it for themselves, for the accolades or for the spotlight – it is very often for a cause close to them.
“Fundraising is hard work and behind every single person is a story, one that this podcast hopes to unravel and explore.”
The launch of the podcast coincides with JustGiving’s 2024 Ordinary People Being Extraordinary campaign which celebrates the everyday heroes in the world – the JustGivers.
In the ten-episode podcast series, Caroline is joined by nine JustGivers as they take listeners along the highs and lows of their own challenges and during the tenth episode, Caroline share’s her own very personal experience.
Each guest, the youngest of which is 13, reveals the spark of their fundraising idea, the challenges they faced, the impact they made and what they discovered about themselves along the way.
Caroline said: “Very often there’s no plan, no campaign strategy and no marketing team – it’s a one-man or woman fundraising band.
“This podcast is an inspiring listen to anyone thinking of taking on their own challenge, and for the wider charity sector to understand what it takes to work alongside an often fast-paced campaign.”
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving said: “We’re honoured to work with Caroline on this exciting new project.
“For many people it’s the initial starting of a fundraiser that is the most daunting part of the process, and so we hope that through this podcast and by hearing the candid stories of ten fantastic fundraisers including Caroline herself, more people will feel encouraged, supported and inspired to begin their own journey.”
The podcast has now launched with guest and fundraising extraordinaire, Phil Heckels, who raised over £170,000 for Turning Tides, a charity dedicated to ending homelessness.
During lockdown, Phil, under the artistic pseudonym, Hercule Van Wolfwinkle, began drawing what he described as “rubbish” pet portraits using his young son’s crayon collection, which he then sold for charity.
Phil’s fundraising work quickly caught the eyes of the nation and even the attention of Boris Johnson after he drew a portrait of the former Prime Minister and his dog Dilyn.
Also joining Caroline on the series is Leah Chowdhry, who became the first ever British Asian woman to take on the gruelling challenge of swimming the English Channel. Leah’s 13-hour swim raised an incredible £50,000 for the British Asian Trust.
Another famous face set to appear on the podcast is 13-year-old, ‘boy in the tent’, Max Woosey.
After sadly losing a family friend to cancer, Max decided he wanted to raise funds for the hospice that helped care for his friend.
For three years, Max spent every night sleeping in a tent and raised an impressive £650,000 for North Devon Hospice.
A new episode of What Have I Done will be released every Monday until the finale on March 4. To listen to the podcast, click here.
