North Derbyshire charity, Fairplay, is the chosen charity of Great Bear Markham Vale 2.

Over recent months our Great Bear colleagues at this site have been holding charity bingo sessions to raise important funds for this established and valuable local charity.

In March Great Bear colleagues, Matt Dams and Olivia Smedley visited Fairplay at Chesterfield where they were able to meet many people who benefit from their important services and had a first-hand  opportunity to see the great work the charity does for North Derbyshire.

During the visit Matt and Olivia presented a cheque on behalf of their Great Bear Markham Vale 2 colleagues for £6,430.20 which Fairplay will be using to help their Educational schemes for young children.

Fairplay was set up in 1992 by a group of parents who wanted accessible activities for their disabled children. The group set up a club where their children could attend during school holidays. The demand for the group was overwhelming and the group developed into an organisation with paid staff. The organisation has grown ever since, developing youth services as well as children’s and expanding into areas throughout North Derbyshire.

In 2009 Fairplay was successful in receiving funding to build its first centre in Chesterfield. The centre has been purpose built to ensure that all children and young people are able to access the facilities on offer. The centre was officially opened in July 2010 and features an activity hall, outdoor play area, meeting rooms, library, sensory room, kitchen, and changing places toilet.

Fairplay now offers services to young people up to aged 25 as well as a new pre-school parent support group for parents with children under 5. Fairplay continues to grow and develop in response to the needs of local families and currently supports over 400 families across the area.

www.fair-play.co.uk

2020 has been a year like no other with COVID-19 disrupting lives and businesses across the globe. Never has charity fundraising been so important – or so difficult.

Great Bear Kettering had to think outside of the box in order to generate much needed funds for their 2 chosen charities of the year – The Trussell Trust and Cransley Hospice Trust.

The Trussell Trust aims to end hunger and poverty in the UK. By supporting a nationwide network of foodbanks, the charity provides not only emergency food but much needed support services to people locked in poverty whilst campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

The Cransley Hospice Trust provides care for patients with life-limiting illnesses who need the specialist help of hospice care in North Northamptonshire. Their services are provided free of charge for the local community, offering care and support wherever needed, be that in the patient’s own home, a care home or within a hospice.

Large scale fundraising challenges have had to be postponed or cancelled due to ongoing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 along with ensuring we do everything we can to keep our colleagues and their families safe. Smaller scale activities have however proved ever popular, with ‘dress down days’, raffles and the all-important “The Great Great Bear Bake Off” raising a staggering £1,621 to date.

Supporting charities isn’t all about fundraising. Whilst it’s undeniable that charities rely on fundraising initiatives to support their work, sometimes we can look a little closer to home and towards our own areas of expertise to help. Earlier in the year, the Trussell Trust approached the team at Great Bear to help them procure much needed storage space – as experts in the ambient storage world, we were on hand to offer a suitable solution that provided an element of free storage for the charity along with a heavily discounted rate for the future. Some of the monies raised to date from fundraising initiatives have then been used to pay for the additional rental costs for the storage space, allowing the charity to concentrate on their core activities.

You can read more about the charities and the impact of your fundraising by visiting their websites:

www.cransleyhospice.org.uk

www.trusselltrust.org

If you have a fundraising idea for these charities or would like to get involved with future events, please contact Kate Collins (kate.collins@greatbear.co.uk) or Carole Elliot (carole.elliot@greatbear.co.uk)

2020 has been a year like no other with COVID-19 disrupting lives and businesses across the globe. Never has charity fundraising been so important – or so difficult.

Great Bear Kettering had to think outside of the box in order to generate much needed funds for their 2 chosen charities of the year – The Trussell Trust and Cransley Hospice Trust.

The Trussell Trust aims to end hunger and poverty in the UK. By supporting a nationwide network of foodbanks, the charity provides not only emergency food but much needed support services to people locked in poverty whilst campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

The Cransley Hospice Trust provides care for patients with life-limiting illnesses who need the specialist help of hospice care in North Northamptonshire. Their services are provided free of charge for the local community, offering care and support wherever needed, be that in the patient’s own home, a care home or within a hospice.

Large scale fundraising challenges have had to be postponed or cancelled due to ongoing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 along with ensuring we do everything we can to keep our colleagues and their families safe. Smaller scale activities have however proved ever popular, with ‘dress down days’, raffles and the all-important “The Great Great Bear Bake Off” raising a staggering £1,621 to date.

Supporting charities isn’t all about fundraising. Whilst it’s undeniable that charities rely on fundraising initiatives to support their work, sometimes we can look a little closer to home and towards our own areas of expertise to help. Earlier in the year, the Trussell Trust approached the team at Great Bear to help them procure much needed storage space – as experts in the ambient storage world, we were on hand to offer a suitable solution that provided an element of free storage for the charity along with a heavily discounted rate for the future. Some of the monies raised to date from fundraising initiatives have then been used to pay for the additional rental costs for the storage space, allowing the charity to concentrate on their core activities.

You can read more about the charities and the impact of your fundraising by visiting their websites:

www.cransleyhospice.org.uk

www.trusselltrust.org

If you have a fundraising idea for these charities or would like to get involved with future events, please contact Kate Collins (kate.collins@greatbear.co.uk) or Carole Elliot (carole.elliot@greatbear.co.uk)

2020 has been a year like no other with COVID-19 disrupting lives and businesses across the globe. Never has charity fundraising been so important – or so difficult.

Great Bear Kettering had to think outside of the box in order to generate much needed funds for their 2 chosen charities of the year – The Trussell Trust and Cransley Hospice Trust.

The Trussell Trust aims to end hunger and poverty in the UK. By supporting a nationwide network of foodbanks, the charity provides not only emergency food but much needed support services to people locked in poverty whilst campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

The Cransley Hospice Trust provides care for patients with life-limiting illnesses who need the specialist help of hospice care in North Northamptonshire. Their services are provided free of charge for the local community, offering care and support wherever needed, be that in the patient’s own home, a care home or within a hospice.

Large scale fundraising challenges have had to be postponed or cancelled due to ongoing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 along with ensuring we do everything we can to keep our colleagues and their families safe. Smaller scale activities have however proved ever popular, with ‘dress down days’, raffles and the all-important “The Great Great Bear Bake Off” raising a staggering £1,621 to date.

Supporting charities isn’t all about fundraising. Whilst it’s undeniable that charities rely on fundraising initiatives to support their work, sometimes we can look a little closer to home and towards our own areas of expertise to help. Earlier in the year, the Trussell Trust approached the team at Great Bear to help them procure much needed storage space – as experts in the ambient storage world, we were on hand to offer a suitable solution that provided an element of free storage for the charity along with a heavily discounted rate for the future. Some of the monies raised to date from fundraising initiatives have then been used to pay for the additional rental costs for the storage space, allowing the charity to concentrate on their core activities.

You can read more about the charities and the impact of your fundraising by visiting their websites:

www.cransleyhospice.org.uk

www.trusselltrust.org

If you have a fundraising idea for these charities or would like to get involved with future events, please contact Kate Collins (kate.collins@greatbear.co.uk) or Carole Elliot (carole.elliot@greatbear.co.uk)