Gill Makes Headway

Following last week's Getting the Word Out, Group IT Director Richard Webb got in touch with news of his wife's recent run in the London Marathon. Like Worcester and Instore, she was raising money in memory of Nigel Dean (Richard's brother-in-law) and to support the charity Headway.

Here's Richard's email which was sent to colleagues just after the Marathon in April...

My wife Gill completed the London Marathon yesterday, with Nigel’s family and our friends cheering her on.

In was an emotional day for everyone and Gill has raised £2791.61 (including Gift Aid) for the charity Headway in memory of Nigel.  A big thank you to everyone who has donated and kept her going with messages of support during her many hours of training.  We have been amazed be everyone’s generosity, including donations from people who have never met Gill.

For those of you who did not get a chance to make a donation, you can still do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GillWebb - even the smallest donation can make a difference to those who have suffered traumatic brain injury.  It would be great to get the total to £3000!

Thanks again,

Rich (and Gill)

Editor's note: Gill aimed to raise £1,500 and the latest from her fundraising page shows £3160.36, including Gift Aid. It's a wonderful tribute the memory of someone who was so well-regarded and loved by colleagues and family.

Jemma and Kim's Marathon

Bertram's Jemma Clark and The Consortium's Kim Valentine have given us a quick update on how they fared in last Sunday's London Marathon...

Kim said:

My time was 5 hours, 13 mins and so far I have raised £604 and there is still a bit more to go on. I am so pleased that I have been able to contribute to helping the charity [West Wiltshire Special Needs Activity Scheme].

Jemma says of her first London Marathon...

I made it to the 14 mile mark at around 3 hours 20 on Sunday, was a great experience and I enjoyed it a lot! Feeling the pain now though!

Overall I have raised almost £600 [for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People - Ed] and still have a few people donating.

Reflecting further on her experience Jemma says she did a lot better than she expected, so well done!

Thinking about the event, Kim added:

The day itself was brilliant the weather was great, although a little warm. There was a real show of solidarity with the runners and the crowds who cheered you on the 26.2 miles.

It’s strange that on the day you forget how gruelling the training has been and how awful the weather was when you are pounding the pavements at 6.00am in the morning. You just get out there and enjoy the atmosphere and the experience.

We Haz Plans...

We have news of a couple of plans for this year's Charity Fundraising.



Firstly, we have a sneak preview of the provisional plan The Consortium has mapped out for their fundraising activities in Trowbridge this year :)

This year they're raising funds to support the West Wiltshire Special Needs Activity Scheme and have a number of events planned for the whole of 2013.

Completed

• January – The Consortium presented a cheque for £12,132.77 to Wiltshire Air Ambulance, their chosen good cause for 2012


• February – TV Raffle (and many other prizes!) raised a massive £460


• 15^th March – Comic Relief – raised £237

The raffle and Comic Relief fundraising were both held as 'cross-site' events, involving The Consortium's Trowbridge and Shrewsbury sites.

To Come

• April – Grand national sweepstake


• 21^st April – Kim Valentine runs the London Marathon (again!)


• 14^th May – Quiz Night held at the Wesley Road Club in Trowbridge


• September – The Consortium Annual Golf Day


• 28^th September - Macmillan Coffee Morning and the annual Golden Spoon competition


• September / October – Race Night


• 25^th October – Wear it Pink day


• December – Christmas Raffle

There's plenty going on at The Consortium in 2013! We look forward to seeing more news and pictures as each event happens :)

Secondly Terri Baylis at Rowan House has given us news of her revised plans for her walk set for June in aid of CLIC. She originally was going to tackle 25 miles of the scenic Jurassic Coast and now...

I’ve updated my JustGiving page - we’re now walking the Ridgeway between Avebury & Streatley on 14-15^th July, which is around 40 miles over the two days.

Thanks for the update Terri - I see you've added quite a few miles to your proposed walk!

Do you or your area have a fundraising plan this year? Do let us know what you have in store... and don't forget it may also provide an opportunity for a wider Link-Up with your colleagues, suppliers or customers in some way!

Jemma and Kim Prepare For London

With less than 6 weeks to go until the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 21st April, we have news of two staff members who are preparing to face the 26.2 mile journey...

...First up is The Consortium's Customer Service Manager, Kim Valentine 

This will be the third time Kim has run the London marathon and as usual before any marathon she is training hard. Kim’s Saturday mornings are taking up with at least 4 hours of training, which several members of staff can confirm having seen Kim run past their windows!

Kim has kindly said she’ll raise money for The Consortium's nominated charity of the year,  West Wiltshire Special Needs Activity Scheme. The activity scheme helps children with special needs and their families during the school summer holidays. It is run purely by volunteers who offer fun activities for children such as art and craft, music and messy play.

If you’d to sponsor Kim, you can do so via her Mydonate page. She's raised £160 so far and that’s with only 3 days of the sponsorship site being live! 


And then, Laura Morris caught up with Bertram's Junior Credit Controller,  Jemma Clark... 

1. Why did you decide to sign up?

The charity [Hearing Dogs for Deaf People - Ed] receives no government funding meaning they rely on donations from individuals, groups, companies and other organisations which is why I have chosen to support them in running the London Marathon!

2. Are you aiming to achieve any personal goals?

My personal goal is just to get as fit as I can to race motorbikes next year so having this to focus on training for is a great help and the big push I needed!

3. How’s the training going – how much have you done?

Training for the marathon was always going to be difficult, but with lots of advice from friends and websites I have got a good routine together of cardio sessions and lots of outdoor running in preparation.

4. Do you have a training plan? Had any expert advice?!

I like to set myself targets each time, either of a longer distance or a faster time to keep me focused. I also have a great 30 minute ‘boot camp’ routine which I use for cardio workouts to help build my strength.

5. How’s the fundraising going – have you had much support?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have gained the support of my local community and with a sponsorship form in 2 of the pubs, the tea shop and a little piece in our local paper about my run.

6. How much have you raised so far?

So far we have raised around £300 which is a great start!

7. What things have you done to raise money – any wacky plans?!

As it starts to warm up I am hoping to host a sponsored dog walk along with some cake & jumble sales!

8. Do you have a personal target for your time?

I believe the average time is around 4 ½ hours, however for me, just crossing the finish line will be a good enough achievement! I think a realistic target would be around 5 ½ hours!

Good luck Jemma and Kim...and keep going!