So you have signed up to the £1,000 challenge and you have your Saddle Skedaddle trip all planned out. All that stands between you and your free trip to Kenya, Costa Rica or Peru is that pesky £1,000 that you still need to raise.

A group of us in the Shared Interest office have signed up to a 10k fun run in a bid to raise some funds however, personally, I am much keener on the idea of baking my way to victory! That is of course if I were actually eligible to win, I guess for me it really is the taking part that counts!
I promised to share some fundraising tips with you, so here we go:

• The Easter Special

Now that Cadbury’s Dairy Milk has been certified Fairtrade, why not follow my take on traditional egg decorating this Easter?

I sold the eggs in the office and I am pleased to say that they were a great success and an excellent start to achieving my £1,000 goal.

The eggs are really simple to make, all you need is food colouring, marzipan or royal icing sugar and creme eggs! Choose your design and get moulding!

• Given up chocolate for Lent?

How about having a bake sale at work or at your local community group to provide those craving a sweet treat with an alternative to Easter eggs?

I am currently taking part in a French cookery course, last week we made Fairtrade Tarte au Cirtron, why not give it a go and see how much closer it can get you to your £1,000 target?

For the pastry:

• 150g (5oz) plain flour
• 100g (3½oz) unsalted butter
• 50g (1¼oz) Fairtrade caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• Few drops of Fairtrade vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 3 medium eggs
• 100g (3½oz) Fairtrade caster sugar
• 142ml carton double cream
• Finely zested rind and juice of 3 Fairtrade lemons
• Fairtrade Icing sugar, for dusting
• 23cm (9in) fluted flan tin

• Come Dine with Me with a Twist

So this one isn’t technically baking but why not gather your nearest and dearest for a twist in the traditional dinner party. The concept is simple, you cook your guests a three course meal using Fairtrade ingredients and get them to score you out of ten; they then turn your score into a donation. A great night out and a fantastic way to inch your way closer to the finish line, we’ll just ignore the extra waistline inches picked up along the way. There is always the 10k run to sign up for though…..

Each £1,000 raised is a significant donation to the Foundation enabling us to continue the crucial  support we provide to craft makers and farmers across the developing world.

So today, if you do nothing else, please sign up to the £1,000 challenge. For a signup sheet or more information, please email Louise McLaren at louise.mclaren@shared-interest.com or call 0191 233 9112.

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation