PANDA CRAZY!!!!

Coco Tanberry is animal crazy, and when she decides to hold a cake sale to raise money for endangered species - the panda in particular - in my book COCO CARAMEL, it's a great excuse to wear her panda hat to school! COCO CARAMEL is out in paperback now... if you haven't read it yet, grab yourself a copy or nip along to your library and borrow it!

Lots of YOU have cool panda hats too... in our very first post here on DREAMCATCHER, we challenged you to send in pics of you wearing panda hats... thanks to all who sent in a piccy!

Would YOU like the recipe for panda-face cupcakes? Just flick a few posts back here on DREAMCATCHER and you can see it!

Why not plan a cake sale at your school and raise money for your YOUR favourite animal charity?

Not great at baking? How else can you raise money to help animal charities?

Why not try...

* A sponsored walk
* A charity car-wash
* Dog walking for neighbours

* A raffle - ask local businesses to donate prizes
* A coffee morning with a £3 entry fee
* A sponsored dance-a-thon
* A jumble sale
* A craft fair
* A mini music festival (check out my book Love, Peace & Chocolate for ideas on this!)
* A sponsored wear-your-animal-hat-to-school day!
* A PJ day

* A sponsored non-uniform day at school - you'll have to convince your Head Teacher, but it could be cool!
* A sponsored wear-your-onesie to school day!
* A sponsored three-legged day... Coco mentions in Coco Caramel that Skye and Summer tried this once... and so did I, back in Year 7, with my friend Jennie!
* A backyard sale... I did this too, when I was nine or ten, with my friend Kerry, raising money for the PDSA who help treat sick animals when their owners cannot afford regular vet fees...

* Get creative and hold an art exhibition... enlist the help of your art teacher and get everyone in the school to produce their best animal paintings. Price each one at a few pounds. Frame and hang them in the school hall and invite parents/ locals for a private view... all proceeds to your chosen animal charity!

* If you and your friends have Facebook or Twitter, stage a 'takeover' and change all your profile pics to panda-hat pictures, for example, or substitute a pic of an animal to highlight the cause you are trying to raise awareness of.
* Or make a Facebook page to tell people about a local animal sanctuary or the plight of endangered species... social networking can be a powerful tool to raise awareness!

* Ask your teacher if the class/ school can get involved with supporting a favourite charity. You could get together to sponsor a tiger, for example, or support a local animal sanctuary by going along in groups, helping out with dog-walking or mucking out kennels/stables/cages. Raise awareness inside your school and the awareness will spread to pupils' families and friends, too!
* Involve your local newspaper - get them to come and photograph your sponsored event and let them know WHY you care so much about your particular charity!

If you're crazy about animals like Coco, have you ever thought of a career with animals? There are lots of options!

* A vet
* A vet nurse
* A dog groomer
* An animal conservationist
* An animal rescue worker
* Animal trainer
* Dog handler in the army/ police force
* Riding instructor

Can you think of any more?

So... which animal charity will YOU raise money for? Here are a few ideas...

* The Horse Trust (they offer homes to abused horses or those retiring from army/ police force)
* Blue Cross/ PDSA (they give vet care to animals whose owners cannot afford the fees)
* Act For Wildlife (they help to protect endangered Giant pandas and other endangered species around the world)
* Born Free Foundation (helping lions, tigers, jaguars and other big cats around the world)

* Dogs Trust (helping abandoned and unwanted dogs to find new homes)
* Cats Protection (helping unwanted cats and kittens to find new homes)
* A local animal rescue
* A non-animal charity - there are SO many amazing causes to support!

How else can you help? 
Collect blankets/ bedding/ pet food for a local rescue centre or volunteer to help out with walking dogs or cleaning out. They'll be very grateful.

Many thanks to all my awesome readers who rose to the panda hat challenge! From top to bottom, Michelle, Katherine, Darcie, Ciya, Annie, Lucy, Joleigh, Olivia and Ellen. 

And who said it had to be a PANDA hat, anyway?
Thanks to Kazia, Autumn, Saffie and Iona for showing that animal hats of all kinds are super-cool!

Have you ever held a special charity event to raise money for a good cause? COMMENT BELOW to tell us all about it! 
And if you haven't... what's stopping you? Get planning NOW... and don't forget to tell us how it all goes!