Tag Archives: Charity

The Ben Nevis Midnight Challenge for Alzheimer’s Society

 
Reply

I’ve always been pretty active, but certainly more so in the last 18 months. I like to run, lift and cycle, but am now turning my hand - or rather feet - to climbing.

After working out regularly with a friend of mine, she and I decided we needed a challenge, something to really work towards, a goal to reach for. She works at a specialist nursing and dementia care home and so comes into contact with lots of types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, the most common cause. When we learned about the Alzheimer’s Society’s Ben Nevis Midnight Challenge, we both leapt at the chance to be involved in such an amazing event… well, she leapt, and I dutifully followed!

I’d really appreciate any support for me and my friend as we take on this challenge. You can do so by donating to The Alzheimer’s Society via our JustGiving Page… more on that later.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Broadly speaking, dementia is the name given to describe a group of symptoms present after the brain has been damaged by disease or stroke, there are over 800,000 people with dementia in the UK and this number is set to rise. Alzheimer’s is progressive which means that more and more of the brain is damaged over time and symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and mood swings will worsen as a person ages.

Although there are ongoing efforts to develop medical treatments, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. There are, however, a range of therapies to help people and carers cope after a diagnosis.

Alzheimers Society

A Little about the Alzheimer’s Society

Every year, this organisation’s 20,000 members help over 86,000 people with dementia, their families and their carers, cope with the symptoms of dementia. Through a network of local services (and homes such as the one my buddy works at!), members and supporters offer practical services in the form of day care and home care as well as online and telephone-based information to help families understand what dementia is.

The Alzheimer’s Society calls for a brighter future for everyone affected by any and all forms of dementia. The research programme they invest in has lead to over 100 projects which fall into four categories; Cause, Cure, Care and Prevention. It looks to improve the life for people with dementia as well as tackling questions behind the causes of dementia, the treatment of it and ultimately, the pursuit of a cure.

About the Alzheimer's Society

What makes them so special is that many members have actually experienced dementia in some shape or form, meaning the help they offer comes from real experience and the research network is influenced by the involvement of people with early-stage dementia and their carers.

The Ben Nevis Midnight Challenge

So, how am I fundraising for this worthy cause? Why, I’m climbing the highest mountain in the UK… by torchlight.

At around 10.30pm on Friday 20th June, my friend and I are heading up Ben Nevis. Starting with a steep ascent, we’ll be climbing steadily for around 5 hours, with the terrain around us changing from earthy green to rocky slopes to the zig-zags that lead to the summit.

Once at the top, a quick tea-break (it’ll be cold up there!) and we’ll start descending at dawn. Depending on the weather, we should see the sunrise and hopefully check out the views from the highest point in the UK! Checkout the gallery for awesome pics from last year’s climb.

Although I’d say I’m physically fit, training for the climb has also been a challenge. Essex certainly isn’t known for its mountains, and there’s not a lot of rocky terrain in Colchester, but we are blessed with some scenic walks which I’ve been addicted to these last few weeks.

Picturesque Walk 3

Preparing for the Midnight Challenge has been as much about perseverance in finding the ideal location to train as it has been about building stamina and endurance!

Ok, Over To You!

As much as I am looking forward to this trip and the challenge ahead, this is about raising awareness and funds for the Alzheimer’s Society, so they can keep up the fantastic work they already do. I’d be so grateful if you’d visit our JustGiving Page to make a donation (and wish us luck!).

Libby and Emma's Just Giving

Or you can use JustTextGiving by texting BRMN99 + £amount to 70070

JustGivingText Image

Thank you!

GIVING4WARD™ £168 TO MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE

 
Reply

For most of us there will be a time in life when our families are helped by charities like Marie Curie Nurses – which provides in-house and in-hospice care across the UK, as well as a team of Marie Curie Helpers who are specially trained volunteers offering companionship and emotional support. 

For patients that have life-limiting illnesses and may never get better – Marie Curie Cancer Care can be there for you. From the physical symptoms of your illness to the emotional strain on you and your family, the network of Marie Curie nurses and volunteers are there to help you cope with your illness and maintain your independence.

With hourly running costs of almost £10,000, to help almost 40,000 people each year, Marie Curie Cancer Care has local fundraising groups all across the country. To celebrate the 12th and final month of our Giving4Ward™ scheme we are more than happy to do our bit and select the Colchester Marie Curie Fundraising Group as our March beneficiary. Although this month’s total of £168 really is a drop in the ocean, a constant stream of donations can all add up and are essential for keeping these services running day to day.

With the Marie Curie story starting in 1948, when the NHS was launched, funds were originally kick-started with the donation of an engagement ring, contributing to the first appeal raising over £4,000. By 1950 the ongoing appeal had met the £30,000 marker and two years later the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation officially became a charity. Over 60 years later and support for the charity is still going from strength to strength and activities are still focused around the original aims of the foundation, putting patients and families first.

Today Marie Curie Cancer Care:

  • Is dedicated to providing more and better care for patients and their families through the Marie Curie Nursing Service and its nine hospices.
  • Is committed to carrying out the research and innovation necessary to find out what the best possible care is and how best to provide it.
  • Will ensure measures are in place to give people the choice of place their end of life care and death through The Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme
  • Is determined that the needs of the dying remain on the political agenda and will continue to campaign for patients to be able to die in their own homes in all four countries of the UK through its policy and public affairs work.

If you want to show your support and do that extra bit there are a number of ways to get involved, from volunteering as a Marie Curie Helper to supporting your local charity shops. You could also join your local fundraising group and become part of a team to help organise events and raise awareness in your area.

Get in touch with the Colchester Fundraising Group

Set up a year ago, our Giving4ward™ scheme operates by us making a small donation for every one of our invoices that is paid on time by our clients. At the end of the month we total up the contributions and make a final donation to a local charity that has been nominated by the High Position team – for more information about the scheme read our first blog.

We are very grateful to our clients to be able to donate generously to the cause, which we know will be put to valuable use helping families, both locally and further afield. As usual, we hope to be able to visit the charity to hand over the cheque and to see firsthand the day to day running of the charity.

UPDATE: we managed to arrange an afternoon for Ray and Irvine, members of the Marie Curie Colchester Fundraising Group to come down to the High Position offices and accpet their donation cheque. We also had the opportunity to find out more about the charity and the sort of care our donation will contribute to. Chris Ainsworth, our Technical Team Leader (far left) and Libby Bearman, one of our Account Managers, presented the proud Marie Curie Colchester Group with the cheque.

Chris (Far Left) and Libby (Far Right) hand over £168 to Marie Curie’s Colchester Group, represented by Irvine and Ray (Centre).

What’s Next?

After a successful 12 months we are proud to have donated £1690 to local charities and are thankful for our client’s support which has allowed us to generously donate each month. As we enter a new financial year we wanted to mix things up a little and will be taking a different approach to fundraising… so watch this space!

Thank You

We have said it every month but it is worth repeating; we could not do this without the support of all our clients; and a big thank you goes to the team at High Position for the continuing hard work and passion for all things digital marketing.

GIVING4WARD™ TO ST HELENA HOSPICE

 
Reply

February is famous of course for love, and being generous towards our loved ones. So, there probably couldn’t be a more appropriate beneficiary of this month’s Giving4Ward™ donation of £140, than St Helena Hospice. A local charity that has in one way or another, helped a loved one of pretty much everyone in the High Position office and the community as a whole.

Launching in 1979 with a public appeal to raise money for hospices in North East Essex, St Helena Hospice was officially opened in 1985 to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people with life-limiting illnesses, no matter what their diagnosis.

A registered charity providing holistic care for anyone living in North East Essex and the Colne Valley Area of Essex, St Helena Hospice are there to support families, including children, before and after bereavement. All services are free of charge to patients and their families, which is why local fundraising is so important.

Support and services take place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at patients’ homes or at one of three dedicated units in the Colchester and Clacton area. All care is delivered by highly qualified teams of specialists including nurses, doctors, physic and occupational therapists, social workers, complementary therapists, counsellors and a chaplaincy team at any stage of the illness.

Set up in April 2013, our Giving4ward™ scheme works by us making a donation for every one of our invoices that is paid on time by our clients. At the end of the month we total up the contributions and make a final donation to a local charity that has been nominated by the High Position team – for more information about the scheme read our first blog.

We are very grateful to our clients to be able to donate generously to the cause, which we know will be put to valuable use supporting people in need in and around North Essex. As usual, we hope to be able to visit the charity to hand over the cheque and to see firsthand the day to day running of the charity.

Next Month’s Charity: Next month we are looking forward to donating all monies raised to Essex Air Ambulance. Relying on charity donations, the Essex Air Ambulance costs a staggering £440,000 per month to keep both helicopters in service. Fundamental to saving lives of the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas, the charity is deployed on average 2-3 times a day and since starting has completed over 12,600 missions. We are already looking forward to giving them a little boost via a Giving4ward™ donation in early March.

Thank You: We say it every month but it is worth repeating; we could not do this without the support of all our clients; and a big thank you goes to the team at High Position for the continuing hard work and passion for all things digital marketing.

GIVING4WARD™ TO CLH&CF

 
1

GIVING4WARD™ To Colchester League of Hospitals & Community Friends

What better way to start the year than to help a local charity? Well, High Position has done just that and is set to hand over a Giving4Ward™ donation of £150 to December’s beneficiary - Colchester League of Hospitals & Community Friends.

Established in 1954, the Colchester League of Hospitals & Community Friends league is a proud support network to NHS hospitals in and around Colchester. By helping to provide equipment and improve amenities and facilities for patients, staff and visitors, the charity will have helped a number of people have the most comfortable stay in Colchester’s hospitals. Most efforts go into running the shops, cafes and bars on site at Colchester General Hospital, Essex County Hospital, and the Colchester Primary Care Centre in Turner Road, relying on volunteers to spare a few hours of their week to man the shops.

Colchester League of Friends Team

We are very pleased to be able to generously donate to the cause, which we know will be put to valuable use in supporting our local hospitals. As usual, we hope to be able to visit the charity to hand over the cheque and see firsthand some of the work they do.

UPDATE: we managed to get along to The CLHF base at Colchester’s Primary Care Centre to handover the cheque and find out more about the charity and what our donation might be spent on. Chris Ainsworth, our Technical Team Leader (far right) presented the CLHF board with the cheque.

CLHF-Low-Res

CLHF’s Clive Fletcher, Honorary Secretary; Emma Moulding, Volunteer coordinator and Dee Fletcher - Personnel Director recieve a cheque from High Position’s Chris Ainsworth
(left to right)

Set up almost a year ago, our Giving4ward™ scheme works by us making a donation for every one of our invoices that is paid on time by our clients. At the end of the month we total up the donations and make a final donation to a local charity that has been nominated by one of the High Position team – for more information about the scheme read our first blog.

Next Month’s Charity

Next month we are looking forward to donating all monies raised to St Helena Hospice. This is a charity that is close to many of the team’s hearts and was put forward by several people. An overarching charity for the community, St Helena Hospice focuses on making life better for those with a life limiting illness, and assists their families and carers when help is needed. We look forward to giving them a little boost via a Giving4ward™ donation in early February.

Thank You: We say it every month but it is worth repeating; we could not do this without the support of all our clients; and a big thank you goes to the team at High Position for the continuing hard work and passion for all things digital marketing.

‘Tis the season of giving

 
Reply

At High Position we make a real effort to give back and drum up donations for local and national charities – from donating a portion of our invoices each month to stuffing our faces with charity cupcakes.

With Christmas fast approaching we are embracing the spirit of giving and hope we can give things that little extra push to end 2013 on a high!

High Position Bro’s get their Mo’s on!

It’s been a long month for some of the guys in the High Position office as they ditched their razors and embraced the Movember challenge. In a gallant effort they have collectively raised an impressive £351.24 that will help raise awareness and provide help for often ignored men’s health issues.

As Movember celebrates 10 years of facial-hair fundraising, the charity is now a global movement with over 4 million “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas” pulling together to raise over £276million, which is funding over 570 projects worldwide. Focused around projects supporting Men’s Health, Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer and Mental Health, we encourage you to take a look at, and support the various projects Movember is involved in.

If you are impressed with the guys’ efforts, and bravery to venture out in public during the past month, feel free to show your support and donate here.

The HP Santa Army is preparing for action

Just in case the Mo Bro’s miss their facial hair we have also rounded up our very own Santa army to take part in this year’s Colchester Business Park Santa run! Organised by East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (each), on Friday 6th December we are going to be running/jogging/skipping/walking 2km whilst donning fabulous red Santa costumes.

Working across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, each have been raising funds to support children, young people that have life-threatening conditions, as well as helping their families with the challenges they face. To deliver all of their amazing services, every year they need to raise almost £6million. To make this happen in 2013, please show your support and sponsor our Santa army.

EACH Pound Will Make A Difference at The Treehouse

 
Reply

Having selected the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (EACH) as our August recipient under the Giving4ward™ charity scheme, our Managing Director Stephen Dart visited their ‘Treehouse’ centre in Ipswich to present them a cheque for £168 to fundraiser Melissa Collett.

Melissa said that “all donations large and small are important to us and we thank High Position for this cheque which will be put to great use”.

Steve said “EACH relies heavily on donations to exist and provide the much needed support of children and their families and High Position are looking at other ways we can support them in the future. We are really interested in the Santa Run at Christmas and are considering a team building event to help at The Treehouse”.

Following the presentation, Steve and Commercial Director Terry Heffernan were given a tour of the Hospice; a truly inspirational place! Newly opened, The Treehouse is equipped with a wealth of medical equipment, toys, sensory room, hydrotherapy and much more – everything that children and their families need for support. The gardens are a wonderful safe space for children and their families to enjoy and interact.

EACH boasts the Duchess of Cambridge as its Royal Patron who formally opened The Treehouse in March 2012. See www.each.org.uk for more details.

Stephen Dart presents EACH fundraiser, Melissa Collett, with a donation of £168.

High Position’s Invoices Directly Help Autism Anglia Charity

 
Reply

This has been our first month of running our new Giving4ward™ charity scheme on the basis of our invoice payments and we’re delighted to announce that the first beneficiary, Autism Anglia, has been presented with a cheque for £153.

Martin our Senior Developer hands over the cheque to Carly Duffet, Fundraising Co-ordinator at Autism Anglia

As you can see from the pictures, Martin our Senior Developer, who nominated Autism Anglia as his chosen local charity, and I popped along to see the lovely people there and hand over the money.

Thank you to all of them for making us feel so welcome.

Our Giving4ward™ Scheme:

We wanted to make our charity raising activity happen on a more regular basis and focus on charities that are local to us so that we can make a big impact.  So, we thought that we should focus on each business transaction that High Position does and make these ‘give back’.

The Giving4ward™ Scheme was introduced at the beginning of April. It works by us making a donation for every one of our invoices that is paid on time by our clients. At the end of the month we then make a donation to one of the local charities our team have nominated.Our work is all about connecting consumers with website owners so this initiative is a way our work and business growth can help us connect with even more people and, in our own small way, make a difference.

About Autism Anglia

Autism Anglia is based in Colchester, and they help people with autism to live fuller lives.  They do brilliant work and we’re proud to have them as the first charity we have supported in this way. You can find out more about Autism Anglia’s work here: www.autism-anglia.org.uk:

“I would like to express my gratitude for a great and forward thinking scheme you have started there and I hope it continues to be a success. Your support for people with autism and their families in our region is very much appreciated”. Carly Duffet, Fundraising & Communications Coordinator, Autism Anglia

Next Month’s Charity

Next month we will be donating all monies raised to Little Dragons Pre-School (Gt. Bromley & Frating) (www.littledragonspreschool.org) who are a local charity-based childcare provider in desperate need of funding if they are to continue their highly valued childcare provision to the local community. We hope to beat our total of this month and look forward to handing over an even bigger amount.

Rachel Davidson-Foster, Operations Director