Author: bubble

Fowler Welch Charity Roundup of 2020, Parkinson’s UK
When Charity gets Personal
Fundraising during a global pandemic presents more than a few challenges, but this wasn’t enough to put off a very determined Pat Newton from raising funds for a charity which really is close to her heart.  Pat, who was diagnosed with the idiopathic strain of Parkinson’s in 2016, set about organising a calendar of fundraising events.  Sadly, as most of these were large-scale national events, they were cancelled, and Pat had to go back to the drawing board to rethink her plans.
Getting Active
As a member of the Parkinson’s UK support pages on social media, she saw an article called “Time to get active for Parkinson’s” – with all other fundraising opportunities side-lined, she knew she just had to take part.

The event offered up 3 options to help get people active and raise much needed funds for the charity; a cycle ride, a walking challenge, or people could design their own challenge to complete based on their ability.

Pat decided to take on the cycling event which would see her bike over 200 miles across the month.

The dates were set as September 1st-30th, but with bad weather forecast for the end of the month, Pat pushed herself to complete the challenge in just 18 days, taking a combined total of 21 hours and 13 minutes to cycle 322.88km.

“The toughest part was making sure I had the energy (and daylight) to complete my planned miles each day.  I knew the only way to get it done would be to bike to and from work each day.  I had to get the miles in early so that I was biking in safe conditions, making sure I stayed off the main roads where possible.”Pat Newton

Emma’s Ultimate Step Challenge
Not content with cycling 54 miles in local cycling event, Bourne CiCLE, in August; completing the Grantham Newtons Fraction Half Marathon a mere week later and then running the London Parks Half Marathon in October (with additional training through the year!), 2020 held a greater challenge for charity champion, Emma Shorrock.

What started out as a musing ‘is it possible?’, became a personal challenge when Emma pledged to walk at least 10,000 steps a day, EVERY DAY, come rain, hail, snow and sunshine, not just for a month, but for the whole year.
A Real Team Effort for January
While many people began the New Year in a post-turkey glut, Emma started the challenge on New Year’s Day in Cologne, taking part in an organised Park Run. What a great way to start the year! Emma was supported through January by a number of colleagues across Fowler Welch who were taking part in the monthly 10,000 steps challenge to get moving through a notoriously difficult month.   As February approached, Emma was 31 days into the challenge with 492,658 steps under her belt, but WASN’T the winner of the monthly challenge – that accolade went to Simon Deykin (Business System Support Analyst) who reached an incredible 692,487 steps in the month, topping 63,721 in a single day.

31 days down, 335 to go…
335 still to go, it was, after all, a leap year! February brought its own challenges. With a snowboarding holiday already booked, Emma had to find inventive ways to making sure she hit her daily target before hitting the slopes. Travel days were arguably the hardest, spending days at a time on coaches and in airports, other passengers were certainly intrigued by her, as she walked the equivalent of 5 miles at a time doing laps of airport lounges.
Challenges of a National Lockdown
So to March, and the start of the imposed lockdown in the UK. Being allowed to venture outside only once a day for exercise meant that every step really would count. As the Company implemented measures to safeguard colleagues across the business and adhere to Government guidelines, Emma was asked to work remotely. This meant before sitting down to her new home workstation every morning, she would need to run 4 miles to hit her daily target. After all, there’s only so many times you can walk up and down the stairs.
Not the Amsterdam Marathon…
With colleagues joining in with monthly challenges again in April and July, combined with longer days and warmer weather, the challenge became easier as the summer months brought with them an ease in Government restrictions on outdoor excursions. Hoping to run the Amsterdam Marathon in October, Emma’s training increased, and the 10,000 steps were soon a distant memory, often exceeding double the initial target.

Sadly, as the world was still finding ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the event in Amsterdam was cancelled. Undeterred, Emma and partner John decided to run their own event, “Not the Amsterdam Marathon”, through the country roads near their home. They were joined by fellow Fowler Welch colleague and reigning monthly step challenge champion, Simon Deykin.
Final Push
As the Country headed once again into a National lockdown, nights drew in, the warmer weather was long forgotten and Emma was down to the final 2 months of her challenge. With training for the marathon also over, it became more of a chore to complete the daily 10,000 steps but incredibly, and in line with her promise “come rain, hail or snow” (all of which were encountered) Emma completed the challenge and on New Year’s Day took a well earned break – although still walked over 10,000 steps!

So far, Pat & Emma have raised over £2,000 and donations are still coming in.  If you would like to make a donation, please e-mail marketing@fowlerwelch.co.uk and the team will send details of how to make a safe and secure donation.
Support Beyond Fundraising
With so many fundraising events cancelled, Fowler Welch had to think outside of the box in order to support their nominated charity.

Having contacted the team at Parkinson’s UK, they were struggling with fundraising but also having sufficient PPE and sanitisers to allow their workers and volunteers to continue to provide their support services safely, taking all appropriate precautions. Having procured face masks, hand sanitiser and gloves for colleagues Fowler Welch were in a great position to help, donating some of their stocks to Parkinson’s UK for them to use across their network.

While this support was gratefully received, fundraising to support the charity is still high on the company’s agenda, and with this in mind, Fowler Welch will continue to support Parkinson’s UK through 2021, where we all hope normal activities and group events can return.
Get Involved
If you have a fundraising event in mind or would like to get involved e-mail marketing@fowlerwelch.co.uk

As one of the smallest depots within the Culina Group family, the efforts of the team at Great Bear Melksam are anything but small. With just 42 colleagues keeping the cogs of the 24/7 operation turning, that’s 42 big hearts going all-out with their charity endeavours.

This year, the depot has focused on 2 main charities; Melksham Food Bank and Designability (in particular their Wizzybug project), whilst maintaining their ongoing fundraising efforts for Macmillan Cancer Support with their annual Coffee Morning.

Throughout October and November, colleagues have donated ambient food items to Melksham Foodbank. The foodbank is there to provide practical, short-term help for individuals and families in need by offering food parcels with 3 days of food essentials. They also introduce those in need with the necessary advice and support services to help resolve issues in the long term. More information about the services offered and how you can get involved can be found at; melkshamfoodbank.org.uk

Whilst COVID has impacted some of the traditional fundraising pursuits, there have been plenty of fun activities throughout the year which have raised funds for national charity Designability for their Wizzybug project. Wizzybugg is an innovative powered wheelchair designed specifically for children under five who are living with cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, spina bifida or muscular dystrophy, as well as children with amputations or a rare developmental delay affecting their ability to walk.

Stock Controller, Sue Whiteford led the fundraising efforts by completing the Virtual London Marathon 2020 – having completed the main events in both 2018 and 2019. Other fundraising events included; ‘Guess the number of Easter eggs’, Easter raffle, selling sweet bags and are currently having a Christmas card sale.

You can find out more about the charity and the impact of the Wizzybug project by visiting; designability.org.uk

The Macmillan Coffee Morning is an annual event that is always popular at the site. People get involved in a number of ways from baking cakes and goodies themselves to donating tea and coffee to accompany the tasty treats. Others help with running the event on the day, donning their best salesperson impression and drumming up trade; it’s always a successful event and enjoyed by everyone. This year the event managed to raise £107 bringing the total raised through this event in five years to over £1250 for such a worthwhile cause.

If you’d like to donate to any of these causes, or if you have fundraising idea, please get in touch by emailing natalie.peacock@greatbear.co.uk

2020 has been a year like no other with COVID-19 disrupting lives and businesses across the globe. Never has charity fundraising been so important – or so difficult.

Great Bear Kettering had to think outside of the box in order to generate much needed funds for their 2 chosen charities of the year – The Trussell Trust and Cransley Hospice Trust.

The Trussell Trust aims to end hunger and poverty in the UK. By supporting a nationwide network of foodbanks, the charity provides not only emergency food but much needed support services to people locked in poverty whilst campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.The Cransley Hospice Trust provides care for patients with life-limiting illnesses who need the specialist help of hospice care in North Northamptonshire.  Their services are provided free of charge for the local community, offering care and support wherever needed, be that in the patient’s own home, a care home or within a hospice.

Large scale fundraising challenges have had to be postponed or cancelled due to ongoing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 along with ensuring we do everything we can to keep our colleagues and their families safe.  Smaller scale activities have however proved ever popular, with ‘dress down days’, raffles and the all-important “The Great Great Bear Bake Off” raising a staggering £1,621 to date.

Supporting charities isn’t all about fundraising. Whilst it’s undeniable that charities rely on fundraising initiatives to support their work, sometimes we can look a little closer to home and towards our own areas of expertise to help. Earlier in the year, the Trussell Trust approached the team at Great Bear to help them procure much needed storage space – as experts in the ambient storage world, we were on hand to offer a suitable solution that provided an element of free storage for the charity along with a heavily discounted rate for the future. Some of the monies raised to date from fundraising initiatives have then been used to pay for the additional rental costs for the storage space, allowing the charity to concentrate on their core activities.

You can read more about the charities and the impact of your fundraising by visiting their websites:

www.cransleyhospice.org.uk

www.trusselltrust.org

If you have a fundraising idea for these charities or would like to get involved with future events, please contact Kate Collins (kate.collins@greatbear.co.uk) or Carole Elliot (carole.elliot@greatbear.co.uk)

In early March, Culina Group employee Andy Brown was one of a few people in the UK to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Following being admitted to hospital, Andy has now fully recovered, he was asked to originally donate blood for research and vaccine development but has subsequently been asked to donate convalescent plasma for research into antibodies in the hope it can eventually be used to treat new patients with COVID-19. 

“A Doctor from The NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT) contacted me as a survivor. The Doctor explained that people like me who have fully recovered from COVID-19 potentially have antibodies in their blood which can fight the virus. This could help patients currently ill with the virus.” Said Andy, who works at Culina Group as Head of Organisational Design,

“Originally they asked me to donate blood, at the NHS Blood and Transplant Service in Leicester. It was all very new to them as I was the first COVID-19 patient they had. Doctors then contacted me again just over a week later and asked if I would like to voluntarily donate convalescent plasma. I would be the first patient to do this at the Birmingham NHSBT facility according to the Blood Trust.”

“For me it is such a privilege to donate plasma which will be used to support others. I am just thankful that I am able to give something back to the NHS as a thank you for the care and support I received during my own unpleasant experience with what is now a global pandemic.”

The NHS Blood and Transplant Service Clinical trial has now been approved to help the NHS treat COVID-19 patients using plasma. The  trials will investigate whether convalescent plasma transfusions could improve a COVID-19 patient’s speed of recovery and chances of survival. If effective, a national programme will deliver up to 10,000 units of plasma a week to the NHS to help treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

Richard Berry, Culina Group HR Director added “This is a fantastic and positive story at a time when they are much needed. All of us at Culina Group are happy that Andy is well and we are very proud that he is contributing to the valuable research being carried out by the NHS Blood and Transplant Service. Andy is looking to go back in 2 weeks to donate again.”

“As a business we are doing everything in our power to ensure that our key workers are fully protected during this crisis. Culina Group provides logistics services to food and drink manufacturers and we are a crucial part of the supply chain when getting products on to the retailer’s shelves at this difficult time.”

The NHS Blood and Transplant Service contacted Andy directly to thank him for becoming a blood donor and donating convalescent plasma to help with the fight against COVID-19.

A COVID-19 good news story for once and one that hopefully is a part of our journey back to our new normality.