The National Paediatric Fundraising Society (NPFS) was founded in July 2020 in an effort to combat the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had upon children’s charities.

Among the articles pleading for donations as fundraising events were cancelled due to lockdown restrictions, data from YoungMinds described the increased need for their services. Ellie and Fatima, newly elected presidents of the St George’s University of London Paediatric Society sought to unite Paediatric Societies from around the UK to help those charities in need.

Both large and small scale charities alike provide vital support to children and were impacted from the pandemic. Therefore, NPFS runs in a parallel system; a national project for YoungMinds and a local project for a local charity that impacts on each university's local area.

The national charity we are collectively supporting is YoungMinds. Young Minds has been a leader in empowering children and young people across the UK since 1993. They‌ ‌help‌ ‌adolescents‌ ‌and‌ ‌young‌ ‌adults‌ ‌by‌ ‌providing‌ ‌mental‌ ‌health‌ ‌support‌ ‌and‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌the‌ ‌needs‌ ‌of‌ ‌those‌ ‌who‌ ‌are‌ ‌vulnerable‌ ‌and/or‌ ‌feel‌ ‌excluded.‌

2022 initiative: Mind Your Step.

The theme is getting people outside and talking about mental health with friends and family. This will be tracked using Strava. More information will be released about how to make your steps count.