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Pamela
Bartlett, intrepid Office Administrator at hardware distributor Wagner
(GB) Ltd’s East Kilbride depot, recently completed a
180-foot crane abseil to raise funds for the MS Society.
Organised by Glasgow’s HART (High Access Rescue Team) charity,
the event provided participants with the opportunity to raise funds
for their own charities whilst also donating an entry fee to HART, to
help them continue with their urban rescue service.
Pamela represented the MS Society because her future father-in-law is
one of the 85,000 UK residents affected by the disease.
The society provides respite homes, the freephone MS Helpline, specialist
nurses, home adaptation grants and much more to support MS sufferers
and their families.
Charles McNeil of Wagner customer RSBI (and a HART volunteer) ensured
that Pamela’s descent from the skies went without a hitch.
Tel: 01634 263263
GM
Fundraising Launches Charity Golf Day
For
many years, GM Fundraising has been
successfully hosting charity events within the glass and glazing industry,
to raise funds for the terminally ill children of Hope Hospice. Its
latest venture is a Charity Golf Day at Patshull Park Hotel Golf &
Country Club on 21st September. This stunning, mature, parkland course,
designed by John Jacobs, offers a test of golf to all handicaps.
The competition is fourball team Stableford with the best two scores
on each hole to count. The winning team will represent GM Fundraising
in the Regional Final of ‘The Times’ Corporate Golf Challenge,
where, if successful, they will qualify for the National Finals held
at La Manga Club in Spain. The day will conclude with a presentation
dinner, entertainment, raffle and charity auction. Among the lots on
offer will be a fully authenticated, David Beckham Real Madrid shirt,
signed by the England skipper himself. A number of rooms have been reserved
for those wishing to make a night of it.
To enter a team of four costs just £425 with all profits going
to Hope Hospice. For more information or an entry form contact Dave
Broxton by phone or fax on 01902 417131 or email mailto:djbmarketing@blueyonder.co.uk
Sash
Raises the Roof (And Lots of Cash) for ‘Help A Hallam Child’
Appeal
Usually,
staff parties result in hangovers and regrets, but Sash
UK has always liked to do things differently, and this year
company employees, directors and suppliers partied hard to get a much
better end result: nearly £3000 raised for local children’s
charity appeal Help A Hallam Child.
The Help A Hallam Child Appeal started life in 1977 and has raised over
£1 Million since to help support needy children and voluntary
organisations looking after children’s welfare in Yorkshire and
the North Midlands. Beneficiaries of the charity have included hospitals,
playgroups, a school for autistic children and a riding school for disabled
children. A local Child Helpline was also set up by the appeal, which
is promoted by local radio stations Hallam FM and Magic AM. Other donors
to the appeal have included McDonalds and Disney, and local events are
held throughout the year to boost funds.
The Sash UK Help A Hallam Child party fund-raiser was supported by everyone
involved in the company, from staff to suppliers. A party ticket was
supplied to each member of staff, with tickets for friends or partners
wishing to attend sold at £5 each. Suppliers then donated gifts
and prizes ranging from DVDs to televisions for a free raffle draw.
The amount raised in ticket sales was then doubled by the company’s
Directors, bringing the total donation to £2870.00.
Alison Ward, Charity Director for Help A Hallam Child, thanked Sash
UK for their efforts:
‘We couldn’t survive without volunteers, our board of trustees
and our many supportive members of the public, but - most of all - we
couldn’t do it without generous givers like Sash. We are deeply
grateful for their support.’
Glazing
Industry Unites 'Fore' CharityNow entering its fourth year, the Glazing Industry Fun Charity Golf Day has become a regular fixture in the diaries of glazing industry golfers. West Midlands Golf Club will be playing host to the 2004 event on Thursday 29th July. The parkland course is situated off M42, junction 6, near to the NEC in Warwickshire and offers a test of golf for all handicaps, with a number of holes featuring the dreaded wet stuff!
The day revolves around a team Stableford competition for fourballs, followed by a three-course, presentation dinner. Spot prizes are also up for grabs for the longest drive and nearest the pin. Entries are invited at a cost of £340 per team or £90 for individuals, which includes green fees, bacon rolls & coffee on arrival, on course refreshments and dinner. Discounted rates have also been obtained with a local hotel with the now traditional après golf late bar.
This years charity beneficiaries will be St.Christophers Hospice and the Ben Hollioake Memorial Fund. To obtain an entry form, golfers should contact GP&T Sales Manager, Leah Tidy by telephone on 07736 171 425 or by email at leah.tidy@emap.com.
BWF
Memebers Lend Tara a Helping Hand
Three
members of the British Woodworking Federation
have contributed to a charitable project, aimed at helping the families
of children with leukaemia. This project enjoyed a high profile
as it was featured in the popular ITV programme ‘With A Little
Help From My Friends’. Socialite shopper and television personality
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson took on the challenge with her friends.
Providing expert services free of charge, Clark & Kemp Joinery from
Essex, London’s Hatfull Brothers and Bristol’s Clifton Joinery
took on work for the conversion of a former student residence near the
Royal Free Hospital, London. Fitted out to a high standard, the
six-bedroom house will now become home to families from all over the
country while their children undergo treatment.
Programme Director Lizzy Gray comments: 'This house is really going
to make a difference to families arriving in London from all around
the UK to be near their children while they are undergoing treatment
for leukaemia. It will give them the chance to offer their children
constant attention and support without having to worry about escalating
hotel bills.
'We have been amazed at the generosity of companies offering to help
out with building supplies, labour and furnishings. The British
Woodworking Federation and its members were quick to respond to our
appeal and now the house looks great, having been furnished and fitted
out to a very high standard.'
For information on BWF, visit http://www.bwf.org.uk
The
Things You do for Charity - Gary Morton Tells us of his Latest Epic
Adventure...
On
a sponsored trip on behalf of Hope House Children's Hospice, the chosen
charity of his fundraising activities, Deceuninck
non-exec and industry guru Gary Morton flew to Northern Sweden and found
himself in Kiruna, 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Solo on the back of a small sled, he braved elements of -30°c alongside
his intrepid team of four, howling, half wolf huskies. He covered over
160 miles across frozen lakes, through snow drifts, along ancient tracks
in mountainous forests, encountering herds of reindeer and saw capercaillies
sitting silently atop pine trees.
The eerie Northern Lights flashed across the crystal night sky as Gary
and his seven other travelling companions survived without electricity,
running water and flushing toilets for six days.
Our bon vivant Morty was reduced to chopping wood (and nearly losing
half his hand in the process), drawing water from wells, eating dried
elk and lighting fires outside with only a knife and a magnesium stick.
His quick wit and survival skills (bringing ear plugs to block out others
snoring) saw him through the adventure and if it had been 'Big Brother',
Morty would have easily made it through to the final!
42
year old David Fozard, Managing Director of HW
Plastics' fabricator Jade Windows
(Brighouse) Ltd., will shortly be on his way to Costa Rica,
one of the most beautiful countries in Central America.
The Round Table organisation has been close to David's heart for many
years and so when the opportunity arose to take part in the Round Table
Children's Wish challenge, he jumped at the chance. Pictured here, on
the left with business colleague David Kettlewell, is David in typical
fundraising mode.
Commented David: 'My objective is to raise at least £2,500 and
I am well on the way to achieving this goal. My training programme has
been going well and being a keen amateur footballer has certainly helped
to tone the muscles. We appreciate the support given to us by HW Plastics
and I hope to bring back some stunning photographs of the trip as well
as many happy memories for such a good cause'.
Tel: 01625 666119
Nolan
uPVC Helps The Noah’s Ark Appeal
Profile
22
fabricator and installer Nolan uPVC
raised hundreds of pounds for a children's hospital appeal during the
official opening weekend of its new showroom in Cardiff.
Steve
Dennis, Marketing Executive at Nolan uPVC, presented a cheque for £518
to the Noah's Ark Appeal's Chairman of Trustees, Lyn Jones. He comments,
‘We are delighted with the response from the public, both to the
showroom and to the appeal.
‘Being a local company, we wanted to support this worthwhile cause,
so we donated £2 on behalf of everyone who visited the new showroom
during the opening weekend. In addition, we ran a colouring competition
for local school children, with cash prizes for the winning schools.’
As a Profile 22 customer Nolan uPVC benefited from a support package,
which included substantial help with the design and launch of the impressive
two-storey, 4,800 sq ft showroom.
Existing and potential customers have the opportunity to see the full
range of windows, doors and conservatories on offer in a stylish and
welcoming environment, without the danger of 'pressure sales'. And the
knowledgeable Welsh-speaking sales team is on hand with helpful advice
if required.
The Noah's Ark appeal was set up to raise money to build a children's
hospital in Cardiff, as Wales is the only European country that does
not have a hospital especially for children. Building work has already
started on phase one of the project, but the charity is still working
hard to achieve its target of £21m.
Tel: 01952 290910
With
A Little Help from Marshall-Tufflex
When
Linda Barker gave Phil Tufnell the challenge to build a two-storey cricket
pavilion for children with special needs in South London, as part of
ITV’s With A Little Help From My Friends programme in January,
one of those friends turned out to be Marshall-Tufflex.
The London Community Cricket Association runs a wonderful project for
children with special needs and the new pavilion will be of great benefit.
Phil Tufnell’s task was to get all the materials for a complex
that will house a state-of-the-art classroom, specialist changing rooms,
bar, kitchen and viewing gallery – all disabled-friendly.
Marshall-Tufflex was very happy to give a little help to Phil and the
company supplied Sterling Mono Plus 20 and MT Conduit to house the cabling
for the pavilion.
With A Little Help From My Friends was shown on ITV at 9.00pm on Thursday,
15th January 2004.
Shepley’s
Weight Loss Challenge for Charity
Shepley
Window System’s four directors and chairman
have completed a sponsored slim for charity. Gary Torr managing director,
Tim Walker sales director, Tony Fry production director, Steve Connor
finance director and Raymond Edwards chairman, took on the challenge
to lose weight over a four week period.
Friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers all paid £1 to guess
the combined weight loss with a prize of £30 going to the person
who guessed the closest. The challenge for the board was tougher with
the director losing the least weight in the time having to forfeit £200
to the charity. George Robinson and Ian Thompson shared the winnings,
both correctly guessing the combined weight loss to be 19.01Kg. But
most importantly over £500 was raised by the trade fabricator
for Hope House Hospice in Shropshire, which cares for terminally ill
children.
P.S. Commiserations to Tim who is now £200 down!
Tel: 0161 339 2433
Email: mailto:james.brisbane@shepley.com
Web: http://www.shepley.com
K2
offers Employee Miles of Support
Conservatory
manufacturer K2 has sponsored one
of its employees, Ella Walsh, over £1000 to take part in the Annual
Benidorm Half Marathon, which took place on the 23rd November 2003.
Ella,
who has been working in the Human Resources department of The Burnden
Group, the parent company of K2, for over two years, had never taken
part in a long distance run before. However, she decided that the Benidorm
Half Marathon was a great way to raise money for her favourite charity,
Christies Against Cancer and also to support the Ian Hales Trust Fund.
Ian Hales was a friend of Ella’s who was tragically killed in a
jet-skiing accident last year. Ian and his family were keen runners
who entered the Benidorm Half Marathon every year, so this year Ella,
his family and friends ran in his memory.
All monies raised were contributed to the two charities, with monies
for the Ian Hales Trust Fund going towards supporting young athletes
within the North West area, Blackpool Intensive Care Unit and Blackpool
Lifeboats who helped save his wife Debbie’s life.
‘I have always supported Christies and gave all my 21st birthday
money to the charity, but after Ian’s death I also wanted to do
something to remember him’ comments Ella Walsh. ‘The half
marathon in Benidorm gave me the chance to raise some money for two
great causes, while soaking up a bit of winter sun! All of my colleagues
at K2 were behind me 100% and I couldn’t have done it without their
generous donations and support.’
‘We believe in supporting our employees in their hobbies and we
were delighted to sponsor Ella in raising money for such worthy causes’,
comments Sally Fielding, Managing Director of K2.
Tel:
01204 554554
Email: mailto:enquiries@k2conservatories.com
Web: http://www.k2conservatories.com
CertainTeed
Contributes to Cancer Clinic
Using
excess funds from a flexible benefits spending account, CertainTeed
Corporation employees recently donated $7,500 to the Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute in Brookline. The grant is one of six made by various
Saint-Gobain businesses (of which CertainTeed is a part) throughout
the United States. Approximately 20 charitable organisations were considered
for the donation.
‘We try to select different organisations as recipients of these
funds each year,’ says John Woodley, human resources manager for
CertainTeed's Norwood roofing plant. ‘With many worthy non-profit
organisations to choose from, we selected the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
a premier research and treatment facility for cancer in children and
adults, because it is a well-known local charity that has achieved outstanding
success. While I am not aware of any employee or family members being
treated directly at Dana-Farber, we have had several employees who have
recently undergone successful treatments for cancer. We feel that any
support that can be given to conquer this disease will directly benefit
all of our employees, locally and nationally.’
The Saint-Gobain cheque was recently presented to Dana-Farber officials
at the organisation's offices. The donation was made to the Dana-Farber
‘Jimmy Fund’-specifically to help fight and treat cancer in
children.
Says Dr. Edward Benz, an executive of the Dane-Farber Cancer Institute,
‘CertainTeed's generous gift will be put to work immediately in
our clinics and laboratories, helping us care for patients today while
searching for better cancer treatments for tomorrow. With this gift,
CertainTeed has invested in the discoveries of our extraordinary researchers
and the compassionate patient care that is also our hallmark. This investment
will help speed our progress toward our ultimate goal: to save lives.’
CertainTeed Corporation is a U.S. manufacturer of building materials
including roofing, siding, insulation, windows and patio doors, fence,
decking, railing, foundations and pipe. The company is headquartered
in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and has approximately 7,000 employees
and more than 40 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States.
The company had sales of approximately $2.5 billion in 2002, and will
mark its centennial in 2004.
CertainTeed is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the top 100 industrial
companies in the world. The company is a producer of abrasives, building
materials, containers, flat glass, high-performance plastics, industrial
ceramics, insulation, reinforcements and piping. Headquartered in Paris,
Saint-Gobain had worldwide sales of $28.6 billion in 2002, and has approximately
173,000 employees in more than 45 countries.
CertainTeed's 125-employee plant in Norwood manufactures asphalt roofing
products for customers throughout the northeastern United States.
Web: http://www.certainteed.com
Ronnie
Rossall to Jump from 15,000ft at 125mph - but only if YOU pledge Money
to Kids Charity
They
say that madness comes in many forms. Throwing yourself out of a plane
at a height in excess of 15,000 feet is probably one of them. Yet Systems
Hardware managing director Ronnie Rossall intends to do just that. However,
he is not planning to just plummet towards the earth in a 125mph tandem
skydive… Oh no – he intends to include a back somersault exit
from the aircraft, straight into high speed left and right spins, while
his sons Stephen and Robert, leaving the aircraft after Ronnie, reach
speeds in a vertical dive approaching 180mph to catch him up and link-up
in freefall.
‘I
must be mad – I don’t even like heights,’ said Ronnie
(right). ‘But I have been inspired by the work that GM Fundraising
has been doing for Hope House Childrens Hospice for a number of years
now, and felt that challenging my own fears was a very small price to
help the children and their families who face the challenge of terminal
illnesses every day.’
Ronnie’s first (and at that time last!) skydive for Hope House
took place a little over two years ago, and raised £3500 for the
hospice. His second (and again at that time last!) skydive raised £10,000.
Following the GM Fundraising gala dinner last May, Ronnie committed
to Gary Morton to make himself available for what would definitely and
absolutely be his third and final skydive. Adding that if it was going
to be his last, he wanted to make it a good one.
So the date is scheduled for February 2004, and Ronnie is seeking to
persuade a representative from each of the industry trade magazines,
and other window industry personalities to jump with him.
‘I’m not expecting anyone else to somersault, spin or link-up
with others in freefall. What I am hoping to do is to help raise £20,000
for the hospice through GM Fundraising. The more good people that I
can find to join me, the better,’ he said.
If you would like to join Ronnie for the experience of a lifetime, please
contact him on 07802 837998, or email mailto:ronnie@systems03@fsbusiness.co.uk.