A Record-Setting Habs Giving Day 2023

Giving Day on Tuesday 7 March was a huge celebration of the Habs values of community and philanthropy, upon which both schools were founded. It was also a chance to see lots of silly hats!

It was brilliant to welcome nearly 300 Prep and Junior School parents and guardians to campus. They joined their children for the TinyDash and MiniDash. The lunchtime GivingDash and we had a record 589 senior school students and staff from running (or walking) the full 3.5 km course. The atmosphere for all the Dashes was just sensational with all participants embracing the silly spirit of the ‘Habs Hats and Headgear’ theme by sporting an extraordinary array of head decorations.

By the end of the day, 1,529 members of the Habs community had participated in one of the dashes. That’s about 10 times the turnout for a typical Tuesday HabsDash. The overwhelming show of support on Giving Day smashed all the challenge targets set by generous donors, unlocking nearly £60,000 in additional funding for the Bursary Fund, as well as for student travel bursaries for those with financial need (the latter an initiative conceived and championed by senior school students themselves).

The Foundation has so far received £179,000 from 590 generous donors, and gifts are still coming in. 250 donors made their first-ever gift to Habs on the day. The total raised is enough to fund seven existing bursary places for a year, or to award an additional bursary next year to a family who never dreamed a Habs education would be possible for their child.

Even though Habs Giving Day 2023 is officially over, gifts are still coming in so we are keeping the website live for a few more weeks. If you had intended to make a gift but hadn’t had time to, it’s not too late to make it count by going onto our Habs Giving Day website (https://habs.givingday.co.uk)

We are so grateful to staff, parents, Old Haberdashers and volunteer helpers for their generosity and time in making this Giving Day a success. Thank you!