Meet Lara, an inspiring 12-year-old who is already making a difference for children around the world. After seeing a Save the Children TV advert and learning that she didn't have to wait until adulthood to help others, Lara set herself an extraordinary challenge: swimming 2.5km (100 lengths) to raise life-saving funds for Save the Children.
What started as a sponsored swim quickly grew into something remarkable, with Lara smashing her fundraising target and proving that age is no barrier to creating change.
Read on to hear Lara's story in her own words, including what inspired her, her reflections on the challenge, and her advice for other young people who want to make a difference.
Why did you choose to support Save the Children?
“I saw a Save the Children advert on the telly, and I said to my mum that when I am an adult, I want to give them money and she said that if I wanted to, I could already do something now. We had a look on Save the Children’s website and saw that I could create my own sponsored event. As I am quite good at swimming, I thought I could do a sponsored swim.
At first, I was going to do 2km (80 lengths), but then I decided that 100 lengths (2.5km) sounded better, so I decided to do that instead.
I was originally going to try and raise £1,500, but as we received more than that, I increased my objective to £2,500.”
How did you prepare for the challenge, and how were you feeling before you started?
“I go swimming every week and I have already done 2km once, so I didn’t really do any preparation. I just decided I would do it and was prepared to stay in the pool as long as it took.
I was a bit stressed before doing it in case I got too tired. I was going to do a mixture of crawl and breaststroke to make the time pass faster, but in the end, I decided to mostly do breaststroke, so that I could swim for longer. I did a crawl sprint for my last length, even though I was tired.”
What was the toughest part of the swim, and what did you enjoy most?
“My legs started to hurt after a while.
My goggles were uncomfortable after about an hour and my mum and the lifeguard found other goggles for me to wear.
I enjoyed actually finishing it in one go, without getting out of the pool. I was proud of myself for doing the challenge, as everyone I spoke to thought it would be impossible and good swimmers thought it was a long way for a 12-year-old to swim.”
Who supported you along the way?
“At the pool, my mum and dad supported me. There were also three lifeguards who saw my mum writing down the number of lengths and asked her what I was doing. She explained it to them and they were very impressed, as they had never heard of a child doing a sponsored swim.
People don’t really do fundraising events for charities where I live in Switzerland, so it was new to them. They encouraged me as I swam and congratulated me when I got out. They were really impressed that I did it in 1 hour 26 minutes.
I also got lots of encouragement from family, friends, colleagues of my parents and even teachers. My gym teacher was so impressed that I was doing this challenge, that he sponsored me.”
How does it feel knowing you have made such an impact on the lives of other children?
“It feels good to know that some children will have a better life thanks to my swim. I am happy that I didn’t have to wait until I was an adult to help them.”
What advice would you give to other children who want to fundraise and make a difference?
Go for it! Be brave! We can all make a difference no matter what. Doesn’t matter what you do, just do it and help other children have a better life.
Determined to help other children, Lara completed a 2.5km sponsored swim and raised an incredible £2,800 for Save the Children. Image credit: Lisa Myers
Feeling inspired? Take on your own fundraising challenge!
