January – GLL Sport Foundation
The GLL Sport Foundation is an organisation operated by Charitable Social Enterprise GLL to support talented athletes across the UK. National research shows the annual cost of attaining high national sport rankings averaged £6,000. In many cases, talent was being lost due to financial hardship and GLL were determined to develop a scheme to counter this problem. The GLL Sport Foundation was born, launched in 2008 with the support of Sally Gunnell OBE who became the Foundation’s Patron.
February – Eagle Heights
Eagle Heights started in 1996 as a philanthropic family and friends’ organisation founded by Alan & Sally Ames. One of the UK’s largest Bird of Prey Centres with over 50 species, Eagle Heights has grown to become a wildlife sanctuary that houses many different species of other animals including meerkats, servals, other mammals and reptiles. They work to improve understanding of animals and increase awareness of the impact our behaviour can have on animal’s environments.
March – CLIC Sargent
When cancer strikes young lives, CLIC Sargent helps families limit the damage cancer causes beyond their health. They fight tirelessly for children and young people with cancer, so that they can focus on the important things, like getting well.
Their vision is that everyone under 25 with cancer, and their families, will get the support and help they need during their cancer treatment and beyond, including bereaved families living with emotional pain.
CLIC Sargent is a fantastic organisation working to help young people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer. They offer social workers to help families when they’re most in need, providing emotional support and hands-on practical help based on their many years of experience. I’ve seen first-hand the incredible support they provide, and I’m thrilled that Builtvisible was able to contribute to their important work.
Tom Bennet
April – Turing Trust
The Turing Trust supports education in sub-Saharan Africa by reusing computers and improving teacher training using ICT. They have reused over 4,200 PCs enabling more than 41,000 students to gain a digital education to help build a more inclusive digital future. Later in the year we went on to send some of our own IT equipment to the charity for them to use.
May – Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
This exceptional charity raises money to support The Royal Marsden, a world leading cancer centre pioneering research, diagnosis, treatment and care. With state-of-the-art technologies including revolutionary radiotherapy, MRI and CT scanner benefiting more people than ever, The Royal Marsden continues to make ground breaking strides forward with the help of its supporters.
May also saw the annual Mental Health Awareness Week. The team organised a schedule of wellness events including a bake sale, a lunchtime walk in the park and a revitalising yoga session, raising over £100 for charity in the process.
June – Grupo Manu and Blackfriars Settlement
In June we donated to a charity supporting families living in poverty in Guatemala and Honduras. Our donation supported the education of a girl called Mia, allowing her to go to school for a full year including covering her tuition, uniforms, materials and food during the school day.
We also supported Blackfriars Settlement, a charity that has been helping their London community for nearly 130 years. They offer their expertise, encouragement and support to the efforts and achievements of local people and create opportunities for them to reach their educational, social and economic potential.
July – Ballina Prishtina
July’s donation went to support Ballina, a talented young student in Kosovo who had been offered a place at Harvard’s Summer School Pre-College Program but was unable to cover the costs for this incredible opportunity. Our fundraising enabled Ballina to travel and study at Harvard where she’ll no doubt go on to do fantastic things. Her school has also now implemented a fundraising system to help support other gifted students.
When my friend told me about Ballina’s situation, I felt compelled to help in any way I could. No young person with such determination and passion should be held back from opportunities, due to unfair financial situations, completely out of their control.
I’m incredibly grateful that Builtvisible helped Ballina achieve something as incredibly life-changing as her trip to Harvard Summer School and I’m excited to follow her on her bright future in academia.
Rachel Ferguson
August and September – Mind and Diabetes UK
In August, two members of our content team Robyn and Olivia ran the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon and together raised over £2,000. We supported their fundraising efforts for:
- Mind who provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding of mental health issues in England and Wales.
- Diabetes UK, the leading diabetes charity in the UK, whose mission is to support those living with diabetes, prevent Type 2 diabetes, make research breakthroughs, and ultimately find a cure.
Diabetes affects more people than any other serious health condition in the UK, yet there is still no cure for one of the types (type 1) of this disease. With this in mind, the fact I have firsthand experience of seeing what day to day life is like for type 1 sufferers and there still being many misconceptions about the disease, I wanted to play a small part in helping change this. My donation was made significantly better thanks to Builtvisible’s support and I’m so proud of that, but ultimately about the fact we’re able to support these worthy charities and causes.
Olivia Wiltshire
October – Cancer Research UK
Another active month for the team and this time it was Andrea lacing up his trainers to take part in the Shine Half Marathon. With some help from Builtvisible he raised a total of £640 for Cancer Research UK. The world’s largest independent cancer research charity, Cancer Research UK conducts research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Funded largely by donations from the public and supported by the efforts of volunteers, their mission is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.
November – Wooden Spoon
“The Children’s charity of rugby”, Wooden Spoon is an amazing organisation that changes children’s lives through the power of sport. Every year they fund around 70 projects, from community programmes and specialist playgrounds to medical treatment centres and sensory rooms. Since 1983 they have distributed over £23m to more than 700 projects, helping more than a million children with a disability or facing disadvantage.
December – Albert Kennedy Trust and St Clarice Hospice
In December we donated to The Albert Kennedy Trust who help support LGBT and Trans youth who have become homeless as a result of their identity. 24% of known homeless young people identify as LGBT or Trans, and of that figure, 77% believe that coming out to their parents was the main cause of their homelessness. AKT’s ‘Out of the Cold’ campaign aims to help more young people have safe accommodation during the winter, as well as any counselling and support they may need.
We also contributed to St Clare Hospice, whose holistic approach to care extends to relatives and friends both during their loved one’s illness and through bereavement. They offer a wide range of services, providing physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual support, ensuring respect and encouraging individuality, dignity and self-esteem. Their aim is to make sure patients and their families have access to skilled, compassionate and sensitive care in a place of their choice.
We’ve also supported a number of charities and groups through our volunteering scheme, and we’re excited to do it all over again next year!
