The below photo was sent to us from Rebecca, a staff member at Brighton and Hove High School, and shows two happy pupils having some Pudsey-themed fun! Junior Head Sian told us a little bit about the exciting in-school fundraising that took place in November: “This year for BBC Children in Need the girls in year 4 at Brighton and Hove High School Juniors, an independent girls school, organised a special fundraising event. They rallied parents, staff and pupils to take part in a number of activities. Girls came dressed in spots and enjoyed a delicious cake sale. In total the girls, with a little bit of support from family and friends, raised over £700.” A huge well done from Pudsey and the team to everyone who helped out.

The whole team here at Pudsey HQ was delighted to hear once again from a group of fundraisers who organised one of our favourite fundraising events of the 2013 Appeal. Staff at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital held a 24-hour CPR-a-thon! The team took it in turns, via 15-minute shifts, to administer CPR to a mannequin for a whole day. Senior Resuscitation Officer Vicky, who helped to organise the event, described the day to us:

“We had families come in and their children participating alongside grandparents and they were all there to raise money for this great cause. We had people come back in during the night after working a full day just to take part alongside massive support from the Fire Service for the majority of the event. We never had a moment during the whole 24 hours when we were on our own and it is down to the commitment from our staff that this was possible. Pudsey was a brilliant addition to this and the children and adults alike were so excited to see him and have their picture taken, he even closed the event by doing the last lot of CPR!”

When Pudsey's not busy fundraising, it seems like he's picked up a few hidden skills - we never knew he could do CPR! It sounds like the event was a huge success, and the best bit of all – it raised over £3,000 for disadvantaged children and young people at over 2700 projects all across the UK. Amazing work guys, you should be very proud!

And finally, as we’re coming up to Christmas, we want to say a big Merry Christmas to all of our fundraisers and thank you all for making this a record-breaking year!

Did you do something amazing this year? Or perhaps you’ve got something big planned for next year that you’d like to tell us about? Either way, we’d like to hear about it! To get in touch and tell us about all your fundraising, simply email your local address on this page, and tag us @BBCCiN on Twitter and Instagram or @Pudsey Bear on Facebook. It’s easy. So go, help us celebrate a great 2013!

The Fun and Friendship Programme was designed to increase the opportunities for disabled young people across the UK to make new friends and to socialise more independently.

Cardiff City Stadium was the venue in Wales for the event which brought people together to talk with each other about some of the challenges that disabled teenagers face when they want to go out and have the sort of social lives that most young people take for granted.

Twelve young people from the two organisations in Wales that are participating - Mencap Cymru’s Play Our Way Project  and Whizz-Kidz  ‘Kidz Together Now’ Project - talked with participants from schools, Sports Disability Wales, Children in Wales, the Community Police and the transport industry, to name but a few. We were also delighted that representatives from our Corporate partners at Cineworld and Boots were able to join the lively conversations. 

Some very practical solutions were identified that would help making getting out and about easier and more enjoyable for disabled young people. For example, would it not be possible for travel identity cards - which have proved to be so helpful in Gwynedd - to be issued to all disabled young people in the whole of Wales?

Discussion was upbeat and constructive, but one young man struck a chord with everyone when he said, very matter-of-factly, that whenever he went anywhere he went with the, often realised, expectation that he would not be accepted.

In Belfast invited guests including Junior Minister Jennifer McCann and Northern Ireland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Patricia Lewsley Mooney.

Whilst describing some of the many barriers that often make it difficult for disabled young people, solutions were also proposed. Young people from Compass’s S.INC Project demonstrated the power of peer buddying, and all the young participants had some very practical suggestions to make to the Translink representative about how public transport might become more user friendly.

The young people had lots to say and the opportunity to share their ideas. Most importantly they were able to share them with people who were really listening and who are committed to making real and positive change.

The most resonating message was that the changes that matter most are changes in attitudes and understanding. Practical difficulties can often be overcome if everyone takes a little bit more time to listen to and understand each other. Those who were there all identified things that they could easlily do in their personal of professional lives which would make a positive difference.

Imagine the scale of the change that could be made if we all did the same.

Darllenwch yn Gymraeg

Find out more about who BBC Children in Need help in your area by clicking here.

Watch our appeal films by clicking here.

The flame has now left Wales and yesterday was united with flames from the 3 other UK nations at Stoke Mandeville. It is this flame that will be used to light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony tonight (Wednesday), marking the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

'Play Our Way!' is one of ten projects from across the UK that is taking part in BBC Children in Need’s Fun and Friendship Programme. Its purpose is to help to create and enhance opportunities for disabled young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to meet friends and have a good time as independently as possible.

Five hundred young people are now taking part in the Fun and Friendship Programme which runs from 2010 to 2013.