84p of every £1* we spend goes directly towards helping children, young people and their families.
The Growing Challenge is back - sign up to give a regular monthly donation and receive a new seed kit every season, as well as a range of email activity packs throughout the year.
Each pack is inspired by Eric Carle’s timeless classic, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar™'. First published in 1969, the story continues to captivate children more than 50 years later.
Support Action for Children and nurture your curiosity.
How The Growing Challenge works
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1Sign up
Choose how much you'd like to donate monthly to Action for Children and how you'd like to pay. After the first year, your monthly donations will continue but you can cancel at any time.
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2
Get your first pack
You’ll get your first pack within five weeks of signing up. We’ll post you a seed kit every season for one year - plus we'll send regular emails packed full of activities and crafts.
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3
Start growing and sharing!
Join the community and show us your growing in action! Share the results of your efforts or crafts using the hashtag #GrowingChallenge. The best pictures will get posted on our social channels (with your permission, of course).
Easy indoor growing
You’ll get seeds for plants that are easy to grow, with simple instructions your child can follow. You don't even need a garden! Grow basil, cress, lettuce, sunflowers, tomatoes, radishes, parsley, beetroot and carrots.
Nature crafts
Don't forget that your plants won't thrive without the birds and the bees - your child will have some easy crafts to try at home, including making a bug hotel and a birdfeeder.
Activity sheets and stickers
Keep your little ones engaged and track the progress of your plants with charts and stickers. Your seed kits will include a variety of activities to help you learn more about the natural world around you - you can even indulge in some recipes inspired by the things you grow!
Take on The Growing Challenge
Make a monthly donation
Sneak a peek at last year's Growing Challenge packs!
Check out this example activity: Make your own caterpillar! >
1. Nurture a love for nature
Whether your child is a nature enthusiast or not, nothing connects them with nature like seeing the results grow and grow. And with The Very Hungry Caterpillar™, growing has never been more fun!
2. Fun and easy
With easy-to-follow instructions and simple gardening activities, you’ll be sure to keep children entertained at home while having a great time learning about nature. We'll give you lots of tips to make growing easy and fun!
3. Inspire empathy
By connecting with nature, you can encourage your little ones to feel empathetic with the world around them. What's more, your monthly donation will support our work; with your help, we could make sure that no child misses out on a safe and happy childhood.
Sign up to The Growing Challenge
Growing Challenge FAQs
Why did we create The Growing Challenge?
Hands-on, nature-based learning can benefit growing minds. Our work across the UK gives children and young people the tools they need to grow and look after themselves mentally.
We believe that every child deserves the best start - that's why we're asking for donations in exchange for packs that could provide practical skills for life.
How many packs are there and when will I receive them?
There are four packs in total, one for each season. Your first pack is sent within five weeks of you signing up to The Growing Challenge, while the remaining three packs are sent after your 4th, 8th and 11th monthly donation.
In addition, we’ll send you regular emails with lots of extra activities, crafts, recipes and stories about how you’re helping children and young people.
How does the subscription and donation work?
You sign up to donate monthly to Action for Children. The minimum monthly donation to get the packs is £6, but you can choose to donate as much as you want.
During your first 12 donations you will receive a Growing Challenge pack through your letterbox every three months, as well as regular emails with lots of extra activities, crafts, recipes and stories about how you’re helping children and young people. After the 12th month, your donation to Action for Children will continue, but you can change the amount or cancel it at any time by contacting our supporter services team:
Phone: 0300 123 2112 (open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)
Email: [email protected]
You can also cancel or change your donation during the first 12 months, but you won't continue to receive the packs if you cancel your regular donation or change it to less than £6.
Have more questions?
Got the packs? We'd love to hear from you.
Any feedback, good or bad, feel free to contact us by
- Phone: 0300 123 2112 (open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
- Email: [email protected].
