Recruitment firm gets pedalling for hospice care

Recruitment firm Haig&Co is getting in shape for the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Mayor’s Giving Day by supporting a local charity’s City Cycle Challenge.

The specialist firm, which is based in Birmingham city centre, is sponsoring and entering teams for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s corporate challenge, which will see different businesses from across the city take on a 40-minute relay race on Friday 28 June.

Taking place at Millennium Point, the City Cycle Challenge will see teams of five pedal as quickly and as far as they can on a static bike – with the team that collectively completes the longest distance being named the winner. The challenge will take place over three sessions between 11.00am and 2.30pm and a range of individual prizes will also be available, including fastest cyclist and best fancy dress.

All sponsorship money raised at the event will go towards Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, which provides vital care and support to local people who are living with life-limiting illness.

Haig&Co jumped at the chance to sponsor the event and is entering two teams which will be headed up the firm’s co-founders and directors, Damian Navas and Greg Morrall.

Navas said: “Birmingham St Mary’s is a charity that all Brummies should get behind. It’s amazing how many people and their families in the city have been supported by the Hospice over the years. That’s why staff at Haig&Co really wanted to get behind the Hospice’s City Cycle Challenge, as we want to play our part in enabling the Hospice to continue to care for people when they need it most – both now and in the future.

“We’re really proud to be supporting this fantastic charity on the Mayor’s Giving Day and can’t wait to meet all the other teams who are taking part.”

To celebrate and promote responsible business activity for businesses in the West Midlands, Andy Street’s Mayor’s Giving Day is encouraging businesses to work in partnership with charities to positively impact the local community.

Lucy Watkins, head of fundraising at Birmingham St Mary’s, added: “The Mayor’s Giving Day is a fantastic way to bring together businesses and charities from across the region, which is why we wanted to get behind the initiative with our very own challenge. Working in partnership with local businesses is absolutely vital for the Hospice, as it enables us to continue to care for people wherever and whenever they need it most.

“It costs £8.3 million every year to run the Hospice – over 60 per cent of which must come from voluntary donations – so we really do rely on the support and generosity from local businesses to keep our services going. That’s why we’re delighted to have Haig&Co  support our City Cycle Challenge and I’d like to wish the team the very best of luck in the race.”

This year, Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice is celebrating 40 years of care across Birmingham and Sandwell. When the Hospice first opened in 1979, it could care for 25 people on any given day. Four decades later and the Hospice is supporting over 400 people every day, providing care in people’s homes, in the community, at its Day Hospice facility and at the Hospice’s Inpatient Unit.

Team registration for the City Cycle Challenge costs £40 and teams are encouraged to raise £400 in sponsorship for the hospice.