January – Refugee Action
In January, Richard Baxter nominated Refugee Action as his charity of choice.
These guys help to build safe, happy and productive lives for refugees in the UK, enabling survivors of some of the world’s worst regimes to live with dignity once more. A worthy cause, fighting for a very real, sad and global issue.
February – Remembering Srebrenica
One of the ladies from our Content Strategy team travelled with the Remembering Srebrenica charity to Bosnia in 2015, to visit the site of the genocide and meet the survivors. She had been shocked to learn that something described as ‘the worst crime on European soil since WW2’ had occurred in her lifetime and that she had had no knowledge of it.
The lesson from Srebrenica is that no society is invulnerable to prejudice and intolerance – we must all remain vigilant against these forces, and take positive action. This British charity focuses on building a cohesive society and stronger, more resilient communities in the UK – they recognise that discrimination, racism and exclusion still persist in our world today and that we must work together to create a safer society for all.
March – Periodic Paralysis
One of our Digital PR team members put forward this charity as one that is close to her heart, having a friend who suffers from the condition. We were pleased to be able to contribute towards finding a cure for Periodic Paralysis.
Periodic Paralysis is a little known genetic disease with symptoms including random bouts of full-body paralysis which worsens as you grow older, often resulting in the sufferer having to rely on a wheelchair.
April – Great Ormond Street Hospital
This April, a friend of the agency ran the London Marathon in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity – where she works as a paediatric nurse.
Every day 618 children and young people from across the UK arrive at the hospital and every day, doctors and nurses battle the most complex illnesses. This is truly a place where the brightest minds come together to achieve pioneering medical breakthroughs.
Every day is a chance to make a difference and this extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support to give seriously ill children the best chance to fulfil their potential.
Thank you so much for your generosity towards my fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. Your donation will make such a difference to the children and their families.
May – Shelter
One of our Content Strategy team ran the Hackney Half marathon (on her birthday!) in order to raise awareness and funds for Shelter.
You might have heard of the great work they do, helping millions of people every year to find accommodation and shelter across the UK, as well as providing advice, support and legal services. Particularly at this time of year, in the heart of winter, we urge you not to take for granted the luxury of a warm, safe place to sleep at night.
Thank you Builtvisible and everyone else who has supported my quest both emotionally and financially!
May – Wooden Spoon
Our Managing Director nominated the sponsorship of the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge, in aid of Wooden Spoon children’s charity of rugby.
Rugby stars Andy Gomarsall, Ollie Phillips, Shane Williams, and Tamara Taylor set out to create two world records on Mount Everest in the year of the Rugby World Cup. They trekked and played alongside 20 inspirational men and women to help raise more than £200,000 for children with disabilities and facing disadvantage across the UK and Ireland.
June – Beat Eating disorders
In June, one of our Content Strategy team did a colour obstacle course in order to raise money for Beat Eating disorders. Along with our contribution, she managed to raise over £2k.
This charity exists to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders. They are a champion, guide and friend to anyone affected, giving individuals experiencing an eating disorder and their loved ones a place where they feel listened to, supported and empowered.
July – Aaron Lewis Foundation
Our MD, Geoff Griffiths, nominated the Aaron Lewis Foundation in July.
The foundation is an all-volunteer charity set up in memory of Lieutenant Aaron Lewis – a friend of a friend – who died in Afghanistan in 2008. The charity operates both locally and nationally transforming lives of service and ex-service personnel through sport and community action.
For 10 years Westcliffe rugby club has run a 10-aside rugby tournament as a fundraiser and this year Geoff took part in the tournament in Southend. He said the atmosphere was incredible, along with the people and the sense of coming together to do something good. One example being that the foundation used the event to present an electric wheelchair to a young man desperately in need of it before the tournament kicked off which was a really nice touch and started the day off with a brilliant reminder as to why they were all there.
August – Momentum Children’s Charity
Momentum Children’s Charity was nominated by one of our Analytics team, after experiencing their support for his 4-year-old Goddaughter and her family. They’re a small, local charity who support the families of children with cancer in some really brilliant ways.
They started out in 2004 with the simple goal of buying a freezer for a girl’s hospital room so she could have ice lollies during her chemotherapy. Today they send dozens of families on minibreaks to lessen the strain of long-term cancer treatment, offer therapy to help with the emotional pressure of fighting a tough condition, and make small but impactful improvements to the facilities in children’s wards.
September – CALM
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day. Frontline services such as their free and confidential helpline and webchat, creating communities and media campaigns are just some of the ways they help.
Our Business Development Manager’s friend joined 1000 participants in the Lost Hours Walk – from Greenwich, past Big Ben, and back again, raising over £285,000 as well as vital awareness of life-saving services.
September – Martin House Children’s Hospice
We sponsored our friends at Kerboo who came up with The Caper 2019: a race from Leeds to BrightonSEO – via Paris! With challenges set by sponsors along the way and with our 10th anniversary happening simultaneously, we set them the task of a DIY cake decoration.
All funds raised went to Martin House Children’s Hospice, which supports children and young people with life-shortening conditions, and their families, across West, North and East Yorkshire.
October – Child Fund
One of our SEO team’s friends cycled from London to Tokyo for the Rugby World Cup 2019 to raise money and awareness for ChildFund Pass It Back. ChildFund Pass It Back is a rugby for development program, helping young people develop the skills they need to keep safe in a rapidly changing environment and support global efforts to end all forms of violence against children.
November – Stonewall
Stonewall started in reaction to Section 28, an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent so-called ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools; as well as stigmatising lesbian, gay and bi people, it galvanised the LGBT community. Major successes have included helping achieve the equalisation of the age of consent, lifting the ban on LGB people serving in the military, securing legislation which allowed same-sex couples to adopt and the repeal of Section 28.
We’re proud to have been able to contribute towards their mission of everyone feeling free to be who they are, wherever they are.
December – Lymphoma action
Lymphoma action is the UK’s only charity dedicated to lymphoma, the 5th most common cancer. They’ve been providing in-depth, expert information for over 30 years.
One of our team sadly lost a sibling to Hodgkin Lymphoma, so we are honoured to be able to support this charity on behalf of the family.
Hodgkin Lymphoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer if found early, so it’s really important awareness is spread given how prevalent it is.
December – Futures without violence
We supported another friend from the industry, Sam Marsden from DeepCrawl, who is currently running 5km everyday for 100 consecutive days, to raise funds for Futures without violence. They are a health and social justice nonprofit with a simple mission: to heal those among us who are traumatised by violence today – and to create healthy families and communities free of violence tomorrow.
December – St Clare Hospice
Our People and Facilities Manager’s friend organises the Debden 5k Santa Run every year. This year over 200 Santa’s took part in raising donations for St Clare Hospice. This is a charity caring for hundreds of people across West Essex and the East Hertfordshire border. They provide free, compassionate care and support to adults with life-limiting illnesses, their families and carers.
The giving continues in 2020, with a few charities already lined up. So, we’ll end this off with a huge thank you to our sincerely kind team for participating with such open enthusiasm. We encourage all companies to do what they can.
