Each year, Spectrum ask staff to nominate their three favourite regional charities (reflecting the footprint of the organisation) to receive fundraising donations from our annual staff survey. For each colleague that completes the survey, £10 is added to the fundraiser; this year, a total of £4,250 was raised (£1,416 each).
The charities which were selected in the three regions were Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity in Yorkshire, Northumbria Blood Bikes for the North East, and Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary for the North West.
Founded in 1976, Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity helps change children’s lives every day by funding groundbreaking research, specialist medical equipment and new facilities, creating an engaging environment built with children in mind at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
The cheque was presented to Harriet Keynes, the charity’s Corporate Partnership Officer. She said, “We are so grateful to Spectrum for choosing to support us, and what an incredible fundraising total! Creating a fundraising opportunity out of their annual staff survey is a really inventive way to show their support, and a great way to help everyone in their team to get involved. Money like this is vital for ensuring Sheffield Children’s ongoing needs are met, so thank you so much to everyone at Spectrum for helping to make a difference.”
Nominating the charity was Spectrum colleague Lucy O’Grady. She explained, “Last July, my daughter’s friend Will was in an accident on his way to school, suffering many injuries including a serious brain injury. He underwent several surgeries (including emergency life-saving procedures) but has fought his way back from each and every one of these and got himself strong enough to be able to focus on his rehab. He was just nine years old when it happened, life has been changed forever for both for him and his family. Thanks to all the staff that supported him at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, he is now continuing his recovery in a specialist facility. I nominated their charity to show some appreciation to the hospital and the medical professionals who were there for Will when he really needed it.”
Since 2014, volunteers from Northumbria Blood Bikes have delivered essential blood and medical supplies, out of hours, between hospitals and healthcare sites in North East England. Blood bikes (with their distinctive livery and narrow profile) can quickly get through busy traffic to reach their destination. In June 2017, the charity was the proud recipient of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the MBE for voluntary groups.
Spectrum’s cheque was presented to volunteer Ken. The charity’s Publicity Officer Kirsty Lawrence said, “We are extremely grateful to Spectrum for choosing to support our charity with this amazing donation. As a charity run solely by unpaid volunteers, we have to fundraise in order to continue to be able to deliver our services to support the NHS. Last year was our second busiest (since we became operational in 2014) and we have complete over 120,000 jobs since we started. Like everyone, we have been affected by rising costs to keep our fleet on the road – but for every £3 donated we are able to carry out one job and that means that is one person’s healthcare journey we have helped and potentially a life saved. From all the team at Northumbria Blood Bikes, we are very thankful for your support.”
Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary is a charity just north of Bury. Founded in 1957, it is now one of the largest of its kind in the North West of England. Their vision is ‘for every animal that comes into our care to have the best life possible and the opportunity to be re-homed in a safe, loving environment’.
The cheque was presented to Bleakholt colleague Ben. Sanctuary Manager Karen Weed said: “A huge thank you to Spectrum for fundraising for Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary. We want to thank Kirsten Haseldin who nominated us. Kirsten is a regular volunteer dog walker at Bleakholt and we are absolutely delighted with the amount of money which was raised. We currently have a big project ongoing which is ‘Project Purrfect’ to extend and renovate our cattery; with a cat crisis in the North West, every penny is vital to ensure we continue our quest of ‘caring for those who have no one’.”
Spectrum colleague Kirsten explained, “I nominated Bleakholt as I volunteer there on my days off. I see the hard work they all do and I try to help in any way that I can, including some of the open days (such as the summer fair). Lots of animals call Bleakholt their home, such as pigs, donkeys, horses, goats, cats and dogs. I love being in a position where I can walk the dogs and get to know their little personalities. It has also taught me the importance of patience and compassion. In the world of animal rescue, you may not be able to change their past but you can help rewrite their future.”
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Dr Linda Harris OBE, Chief Executive of Spectrum, said, “On behalf of the Board of Spectrum, we are thoroughly grateful to all of our staff who, on completion of the most recent staff survey, automatically contributed to the overall donation of £4,250 which has been allocated to three great charities. Through these donations, we have been able to ensure that Spectrum fulfils its mission to contribute to social causes. Our action will make a difference through wide-ranging charitable endeavours chosen, because they mean a lot to our own staff.”
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