Father raises more than £5,000 in daughter’s memory

NICK Yates, who works in the Birmingham branch of Consolidated Stainless Recycling, has now raised more than £5,000 for charity in memory of his daughter Gemma, who died 17 years ago, aged 17.

His latest charity challenge was to cycle 55 miles, accompanied by his good friend Pete, in the Worcester Classic Bike Ride to raise money for Edward’s Trust, a charity which helps bereaved children and families, and which helped him after Gemma’s death.

“They shared our grief and stayed by our side through those dark, early times and gave us hope for the future. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude,” says Nick.

“The realisation that we have survived the same number of years without her as we were gifted with her, was enough for me to get up and do something positive.”
 
A spokesperson for Edward’s Trust said. “We are really happy that Nick has created such a great legacy in memory of Gemma. The money raised so far could fund full support for five other bereaved parents like Nick or five bereaved children, or could send six bereaved parents on a therapeutic retreat.

“Nick’s efforts will definitely change lives.”
 

National Grid raises £5,000 for Marie Curie Hospice

BY making donations for office furniture and equipment that was no longer needed, employees at National Grid’s Solihull office have raised more than £5,000 for Marie Curie Hospice.
 
A major refurbishment programme at National Grid’s office at 35 Homer Road meant that some office furniture and IT equipment was no longer required. Because of its commitment to minimising waste and to supporting the communities in which it works, National Grid offered this surplus to employees in return for charitable donations.
 
It is these donations that have raised over £5,000 for Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull, including match funding from National Grid.

Any remaining furniture and equipment was donated to St Peter’s School in Leamington Spa and a school in Ghana, West Africa.
 
Jon Butterworth, director at National Grid who presented the cheque to Marie Curie said, “I’m proud that we’ve recycled or re-used over 80% of our waste materials on this refurbishment project, and the fact that this has led to this fantastic contribution to such a worthy cause is even better.”
 
Tracey Finnegan from the hospice said, “This money will help so much with the work that we do.”

J S Wright staff raise thousands for St Richard’s Hospice

BIG-hearted employees at the Aston headquarters of a building services provider raised £2,960 for a Worcester hospice.

The J S Wright staff and directors raised the impressive sum for St Richard’s Hospice after taking part in the Great Birmingham 10K Run and holding a raffle on a fun day for their colleagues and families.

All the proceeds have gone to St Richard’s, the adopted charity of J S Wright for 2015, as the company celebrates its 125th anniversary year.

The lion’s share of £1,610 was raised by a team of ten who successfully pounded the streets of Birmingham along with 7,000 other runners in the city’s first 10K run.

Other funds came from an in-house tombola and a garden party at Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel that included a raffle to win prizes donated by suppliers and the opportunity to throw wet sponges at the company’s directors seated in stocks.

Lizzie Brazier, community fundraiser for St Richard’s Hospice, said: “We are so grateful to the team at J S Wright who took part in the Birmingham 10k run to raise money for the Hospice.”