CHARITIES, schools and kind-hearted individuals across Oxfordshire are doing their bit to raise money for Children in Need just in time for the annual appeal night on Friday.

Last year projects in Oxfordshire have received more than £600,000 in grants from the BBC appeal towards helping children with family problems and life-limiting conditions, as well as funding after-school workshops and providing holiday activities for disabled children.

A nine-year-old girl from Banbury created her own ‘swimathon’ by challenging herself to swim one kilometre without stopping to raise money for Children in Need.

Lily Baldwin said she got the idea to raise money for the charity after watching the BBC’s Blue Peter and combined her swimming skills and good will to do her part for children who are less fortunate than her.

She took the plunge on Saturday at Banbury’s Spiceball Leisure Centre and smashed her distance target, swimming 64 laps - equivalent to one mile.

Lily set herself a goal of £250 and has raised £200 so far, hoping to generate more with the help of her mum, Claire Baldwin who has been running a JustGiving appeal.

She said: “Lily swam, without a break and took in her her stride. Spiceball offered the pool swim for free and I logged her lengths.

“When she completed her 40 laps she wanted to do more so she added 24 to the 40, that means she actually completed 64 which equals one mile! Super achievement. We celebrated with a Chinese take-away.”

Last Friday, Zumba Fitness Oxford held a zumba party at The Regal, CLC Christian Life Centre on Cowley Road, and raised £919 for Children in Need, with donations still coming in.

Pudsey the Bear paid a visit to Witney Primary School on Monday, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Witney.

Pupils at the school were enjoying a spotty day, where they donated a pound each to don spots on their clothes, faces or in their hair, and the famous bear chose the spottiest boy for a competition. The winner was nine-year-old Harvey Ridgway.

Pudsey also picked the winning ticket in a raffle, with Freya Bishop, five, winning her own cuddly version of the character. The school raised £553 for Children in Need.

Headteacher Jill Meyer said “It was amazing and I’m very pleased with the amount we raised.

“The pupils loved Pudsey. There was a lot of cuddling.”

Projects in West Oxfordshire including Dogs For Good, Guideposts Trust and Home-Start Banbury and Chipping Norton have received £289,761 so far this year from Children in Need.

Last year, projects in Oxford alone received grants of more than £300,000, with Helen & Douglas House getting £113,054 to provide counselling for brothers and sisters of children who have a life limiting conditions.

Children in Need will air on BBC1 and BBC2 at 7.30pm on Friday, November 18.