Volunteer Challenge: Sinead's Wax Melts

At the start of the year, FBRC challenged our volunteers to turn a £20 start-up fund into some serious cash for the charity. Sinead Monaghan, a foster carer for the charity, describes how she took on the challenge.

When I was asked to participate in the volunteer challenge I was a bit apprehensive as I didn’t think I would be able to come up with anything good enough to make a large profit or have enough people to market to other than friends and family. However I thought I may as well give it a go as I have nothing to lose and it’s for a great cause and something that is really important to me. I thought for a while about things that are popular and things that I enjoy. I realised wax melts are something that are really popular at the moment so I thought I would give wax melt making a try! Can’t be that hard to make…right?!

I researched how to make wax melts and bought the products off eBay with the £20 volunteer start up fund. I started off with 1kg soy wax, 3 scents and a wax mould.

I then had to think of a place I could market my product. I am a huge make up fan and I am in a beauty group on Facebook with lots of ladies who have similar interests as me. I posted on the group telling them about Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care and my challenge. All the ladies were extremely supportive of the charity and as I thought LOVE wax melts! I got a huge number of orders and within the first week I had raised £120.

Once the first lot of ladies had received their wax melts they began sharing pictures of the wax melts they had purchased on the Facebook group for other members to see.

I then had more ladies asking if they could purchase some wax melts and a lot of people interested in wanting to know my role in the charity and what the money I am raising was going towards. I explained to the ladies that I was a foster carer and take care of bunnies until they get their forever home. I also explained that the money I am raising will be going towards vet bills, vaccinations, and neutering and general charity funds. I realised I had to reinvest some of the money I had made to purchase more wax and increased the 3 scents I started out with to 10 scents.

Again I received a huge number of orders over the next 2 weeks and my kitchen was covered in wax! I really enjoy making the wax melts and I believe the more batches I am making the better I am getting at it.

As I was posting the wax melts all over the UK I needed a bunny helper to help with the packaging!

I don’t think my local post office was too pleased to see me standing in the line waiting to post all this! However the lady at the counter could not have been any nicer after I explained I was making wax melts to raise money for Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care and I also raised some more money from them as they wanted to help out and purchase some!

I really am overwhelmed at the support I have received from doing the volunteer challenge. To date I have sold over £500 of wax melts and I believe I have made over 400 wax melts! That’s a profit of almost £440 into the charity’s fund pot!

I am so glad I participated in doing the challenge as I really did not expect to receive the amount of generosity and kindness which I have and if I went with my apprehensive self at the start and didn’t try because I didn’t believe in myself the charity would not beover £400 better off. I can not thank all the people who have donated enough for all their support! Not only have I raised a substantial amount of money for the charity I have also spread Fairly Beloved Rabbit Cares name and aim through the UK with wax melts!

Sinead’s story shows just how easy it is to raise money for Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care. We will now be able to fund neuter ops for approximately 8 rabbits thanks to Sinead’s efforts and the generous discounts offered by some of our vet partners.

Can you turn £20 into big profit for the rabbits in our care?