Exchanging Cans for Bulbs

[caption id="attachment_2709" align="alignleft" width="232" caption="Some of the generous donations from colleagues"][/caption]

Infrastructure's Stuart Gascoigne at Wakefield House has a neat scheme which is turning used cans into something much nicer. The results are being appreciated by many people in Bristol.

His colleagues have been donating most generously to the recycling scheme which turns the cans Stuart collects into cash. In turn he's using the money raised (approx £5 per month) to buy bulbs for the Malago Valley Conservation Group.

The Malago Valley Conservation Group works to improve the open spaces and streams of the Bishopsworth area of Bristol.

Stuart reports:

[caption id="attachment_2710" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Bulb planting in October last year"][/caption]

The scrap cans are sold for recycling. The money raised is used for environmental projects. For the past few years the amount raised from the sale of scrap metal has matched the amount spent on planting flower bulbs, so in a sense the cans are turned into bulbs.

All contributions of cans are welcome!

What a fantastic idea! It'd be great to see the flowers if you have a picture Stuart :)

Reading Are Multitasking

Reading House have news of two fundraising activities so far this year, held in January and also earlier this month.

Graham Adlington (Facilities Manager), Sam Canido (Day Pack Manager) and Amy Davidson (Deputy Customer service Manager) have got together to organise Dress Down/Car Wash/Cake Sale days in aid of Cancer Research and Stroke Care.

They've chosen these charities because of staff  and relations who have/had cancer and also Stroke Care has given continuous support to an ex-employee (Dini Letterio).

A total of of £322.50 has been raised so far to be split £180.00 for Cancer Research and £142.50  for Stroke Care.

Brislington Open Day Gathers Some Cash

[caption id="attachment_2265" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Touring the depot"][/caption]

A joint open day with the NFRN at the Brislington depot at the end of February was the ideal opportunity for a spot of light fundraising. Independent retailers from Bristol, Swindon, Taunton and Yeovil toured the depot and met with staff and key suppliers.

£81 was donated by staff and visitors on the day. The money raised will be split between the depot’s three chosen charities: Brislington Cancer Research, Cots for Tots and a local  donkey sanctuary.

Thoughtful Paws Sales Start for 2012

[caption id="attachment_2173" align="alignleft" width="640" caption="Jaqueline Bunnett sets out her stall..."][/caption]

Following January's post introducing Wakefield House's Jacqueline Bunnett and her charity handiwork, she has already started her 2012 fundraising activities for Torbay Animals in Distress via her Thoughtful Paws Hand Made Cards and Gifts/Babysitting Service.

She set up her stall for a couple of hours or so at the Toothill Charity Tabletop Charity Sale at the end of February, attended by around 75 people, including Brett from IT. Jacqueline said of her efforts:

Although not a large amount of money was raised a lot of enquires were made regarding my babysitting service and commission pieces.  I was also invited to another event in 2 week’s time so I am now back making a few more cards, Dolls Pram/Cot sets. Mothers Day and Easter Cards were best sellers on the day.

Donations were also placed in the pictured collection tin, which will be opened by the charity later. NB Jacqueline has more Mother's Day and Easter cards for sale if you're interested.

Don't forget Jacqueline is is appealing for donations of cotton and polycotton fabrics for her patchwork products if you have some to spare.

Yeovil get in on the act

Yeovil decided to throw their hat in the ring with the car washers, and run a carwashing fundraiser of their own.  They also made bacon butties which were sold to the staff. They raised £50 in the process.  The money will go towards sponsoring Steve Elliott who completed the A-B Bike Ride in aid of Rowcroft Hospice.

More biking at Manchester

Manchester House have also been getting in on the bike action, holding a challenge on a stationary bike during Community Week. They also held a car wash, a raffle and sold breakfast and lunch, making a grand total for the week of £307 raised.

[caption id="attachment_1171" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Caroline and Steve from Manchester get pedalling"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1172" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Alan and Steve car washing at Manchester"][/caption]

NAC active for charity

Amongst other things the NAC held a sponsored walk and a car wash as part of their Community Week efforts.

A group of fifteen walkers plus one dog arrived at the NAC on a Saturday morning equipped for all weathers. After a two and a half hour gruelling 10km walk along the Spen Valley Greenway, collecting a few blisters and aching feet along the way, they arrived at the Ship Inn, Mirfield, for some well-deserved liquid refreshment. Sponsorship currently stands at £500 raised - congratulations to those who took part!

[caption id="attachment_1098" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="NAC walkers en route"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1099" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Catching a lift?"][/caption]

And their car wash volunteers set straight to the task at 9.00 am.  Having studied the in-depth instructions on how to wash a vehicle, getting to grips with a kinky hose, and the logistics of staff moving cars to the designated area at the allotted time, the operation ran smoothly (as long as you didn’t mind getting your feet wet). Twenty four cars were washed in total by a team of 22 volunteers, who raised £120! The car park has never had so many shiny vehicles in it and there were no complaints from the car owners. A big thank you to all involved!

Gigs and gardens for MSC

Worcester MSC have stepped it up a gear with their fundraising and community work.  They held a gig on 23 June at the Marrs Bar in Worcester in aid of their charity, Acorns.

The 3 bands - Arturo, FTB and Hades the Cat - all played for free on the night and all door donations were collected for Acorns.  The bands all had current or ex Smiths News staff as members.  They raised a wonderful £210 on the night.

[caption id="attachment_1050" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="At the Marrs Bar"][/caption]

They also got a group together to start a gardening project at Acorns.  They were asked to hire a skip and clear away 18 months' worth of garden waste!  2 skips later they'd managed to clear the debris.  The gardening project is ongoing, with the MSC 'adopting' an area of Acorns garden to upkeep on a regular basis.  They have big plans for their plot, including composting the garden waste and screening it off with a trellis.  They also plan to raise more funds to pay for fencing and some apple trees.

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Working at Acorns"][/caption]

The helpers in the garden were: Vicky Wheeldon and her sons Jamie and Sam, Mark Falcon, Darren Clark, Andy Walls, Laura McDonald, Andy Wheeldon, Tracey Harper and her daughter Chloe.

[caption id="attachment_1057" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Getting stuck in!"][/caption]

Washing goes well

Nottingham night team have been busy with their buckets and sponges - they raised £135 for the MS Society with a sponsored car and van wash.  Organised by night manager Gavin Howard the team left their colleagues vehicles gleaming!

HR get baking and gardening

[caption id="attachment_919" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Zoe Marlow, Emma Doyle and Charlotte Owen with their magnificent cake stall"][/caption]

Well done to the HR team at Wakefield House who've been very busy recently for Community Week.  They held a cake sale which raised a brilliant £200 for Leonard Cheshire Disability at Greathouse in Chippenham.

They also had a team away day at the Leonard Cheshire house, where they spent the day working in the grounds. 

They cleared away rubbish, retreated the garden furniture and planted 600 plants!

The team said: "We were just getting to the end of the potting plants, which seemed endless, when someone came along and donated another 100!  We were struggling for room in the end.  But we have since heard that all the pots are looking fantastic, so it was worth the effort.  We were very lucky with the weather and everyone had a lot of fun."

This is the second time that the HR team have visited the Greathouse to work on their garden, truly a great sense of community spirit between the team and their chosen charity.  Well done all!

Gardening in the Community

Newcastle House showed their community week spirit recently when they went to a local Marie Curie hospice to do some gardening.  Marilyn Stadius organised the outing, with 8 staff in total in attendance.

In addition to all their fundraising efforts Newcastle also wanted to do something for their community that didn't involve asking for money. They have now forged links with the hospice and intend to give their time there on a monthly basis, helping out with the garden and other projects.

Attendees on the first session were: Craig Berry, Norman Cooke, Kevin Graham, Carol Inglis, Marie Kirven, Paul Price, Ian Rothwell and Marilyn Stadius.

Gill White, Facilities Manager at the hospice said: "Thank you so much for all your efforts on Friday. The gardens look lovely and the Day Care staff and patients were so happy with the results today. It was lovely to meet you all and thanks again."

Well done Newcastle and keep up the good work!

Wednesbury Washers out in force

The Magazine Returns team at Wednesbury must be experts at car valeting by now – they raised another £175 looking after their colleagues cars in May.  Karen Hughes, Gary Dawes, Lee Aldridge, Dean Crockford and Paul Kilminster washed, waxed, polished and vacuumed 15 vehicles. What heroes!

At the carwash

Wednesbury House have been washing- each other's vehicles!  They managed to raise £102.50 with their buckets and sponges (and vacuum cleaner for the insides - a professional job here!)

Well done and a great contribution to their busy Community Week programme of events.

At the carwash

Bournemouth staff have been getting up close and personal with their colleagues’ vehicles, as they are running regular car washes at their depot in order to raise money.  Wayne Gilman, Manager and Peter Batke, Maintenance have been out with their buckets and sponges and made £50 on their first day - impressive!