As one of this year's initiatives, Busy Bees has combined a commemorative Olympic theme with a physical activity called the 'Golden Mile' in order to promote healthy living and raise awareness of their chosen charity The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust (DKHLT), pledging to raise £44,000 throughout 2012.

To raise this fantastic amount, all Busy Bees nurseries throughout the UK held family fun events that invited the whole community to get involved.

Nurseries have received tremendous support from staff, parents and their local communities to raise fantastic amounts, including…
Busy Bees Nurseries in West Suffolk and Chelmsford raised over £250 collectively with sponsored walks, Busy Bees in James Paget raised over £280 with a sponsored sports day and Busy Bees in Farnborough raised over £700 at a family fun day for all of the community to enjoy - truly outstanding!

A generous parent from Basingstoke arranged for her employers, Vodaphone, to match the total amount raised by the nursery, bringing their total raised to over £330 thanks to the sale of some very special t-shirts painted and designed by little budding artists in the nursery.

The week saw many children around the country dress in unusual attire with lots of fancy dress days held, including a 'wacky hair' day at Busy Bees in Bamber Bridge which raised over £200.

Staff from Busy Bees in Bradley Stoke embraced this year's Olympic fever as they took part in a bike-a-thon on an exercise bike in view of the children and parents, clocking up 140 miles between them and raising over £200.

Children's favourite, CBeebies Mr Bloom was the star of the show at Busy Bees in Bromborough, as the nursery revealed their newly refurbished garden to the public with a garden party attended by the Mayor of Wirral, Councilor Gerry Ellis, raising over £350.

All of these activities and many more across the group, helped to raise over £7,500, sending their total sum accumulated this year to over £22,000.

The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust is a charity which gives disadvantaged young children the chance to realise their dreams through inspirational guidance from Paralympic, World and Commonwealth champions.

Olympic Gold Medalist, Dame Kelly Holmes said:
"I'm thrilled that Busy Bees have decided to support my charity, the DKH Legacy Trust, with the Golden Mile. It's fantastic that young children are being encouraged to take up an active and healthy lifestyle and their support will really help us to create life chances for more young children."

To raise awareness of the DKHLT cause and promote the Golden Mile challenge to children, a child-friendly torch has been making its way around the nurseries across the UK since the beginning of January. An array of sports personalities and Paralympic champions have been supporting the nurseries at various stages of the journey, and will continue to do so before the torch reaches its final destination at Busy Bees ExCel on Thursday 26th July, the eve of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony.

To see where the Busy Bees torch is heading next and to see the progress made so far, visit our Golden Mile page at http://www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk/golden-mile