The Dragon Christmas Charity Sale 2020
Christmas 2020 will be like no other but this does not mean we should abandon some of the core traditions that sit at the heart of the Dragon Community.
The Sale is deeply rooted in the Dragon School’s long history: every year since 1944 our community has come together in December and raised tens of thousands of pounds on Sale day, money which gives vital support to charities both nationally and internationally, and on our doorstep. It is a vital injection of funds that many charities have come to rely on.
Here’s how you can help this year:
1. As many as possible of the bustling market stalls have gone online : every time you buy something fabulous from our website the fund will increase.
2. There’ll be no wandering around stalls eating mince pies and catching up with friends old and new. But might you donate here instead what you would have spent? ( Or emailing for BACS details).
Testament to the astonishing generosity of the Dragon community is the fact that the Dragon Sale raised £800 per paying attendee in 2019 and approximately £650 per paying attendee in the 5 years before.
Isn’t this Christmas, of all years, one where our community must pull together more determinedly than ever before?
Why GoFundMe and how will it work?
We have chosen GoFundMe as a platform for giving as they have 0% platform fees and 100% of Gift Aid goes to the charity. This maximises the money we will be able to disperse to all the charities we want to support.
How do your donations help?
Last year The Dragon Christmas Charity Sale supported 120 different charitable organisations all of which are carefully vetted.
The Sale considers Charities which support Families and Children locally, nationally and internationally based on 5 key themes:
-Providing School breakfasts for children in poverty
-Improving access to Sport for young people
-Improving access to Education for children in Poverty at home and abroad
-Lightening the load for children who are young carers
-Supporting those children with Mental Health problems, specifically those with special needs or affected by poverty, abuse and neglect
The list of charities and some stories about the change we have enabled can be seen here .
How will the funds raised be disbursed?
It is an integral part of the Sale that the pupils themselves are involved in choosing which charities should benefit from the money raised. It instills in the pupils not just the knowledge that they can make a difference in the world, but the confidence to get out there and do it. In the process, they learn how these enterprises touch the lives of families and communities in Oxford, the UK and beyond.
It also gives us the chance to support charities which are particularly reliant on our annual donations amongst which are Cecily's Fund and The Felix Project both set up in memory of an old Dragon who died tragically young.
So much has been asked of us all in 2020. But please consider making a Christmas donation towards the Dragon Christmas Charity Sale Fund. Any and every contribution can enable charities to continue their vital work; some of them are in more desperate need than ever before.
Further Information
To read more about the selection process, which happens in the Easter term, involving personal presentations from individual pupils and staff about charities that are important to them, to forms voting on a selection of charities that they look at and review please visit the philanthropy area on our website . It will be constantly updated showing which charities have been selected to benefit.
Everyone involved in the Dragon Sale is a volunteer: 100% of your donation will go to the charities that need it. The Dragon Christmas Charity Sale is a registered charity and all our accounts are fully audited annually. 
