Charity briefs: JCT600; Yorkshire County Cricket Club; Martin House

JCT600 has chosen the Alzheimer’s Society as its annual nominated charity for 2015.

The announcement follows the success of JCT600’s company-wide fundraising initiative for the Association of Young People with ME (AYME) last year which resulted in colleagues at its Bradford head office and its 47 dealerships across the North and the Midlands raising a grand total of £52,037.

Throughout 2015, JCT600’s 2,000-strong team will once again take part in a variety of fund-raising events in support of a single chosen charity with colleagues taking on the challenge of attempting to raise even more funds than last year.

“This is the third year that colleagues have chosen one charity which will benefit from a 12-month long programme of fund-raising activities as we believe that by combining our efforts and focussing on a single charity each year, our fundraising can have a real impact,” said John Tordoff, chief executive of JCT600.

Kirsty Moon of JCT600’s head office dealer support team who led the selection committee added: “Our charity committee considered 67 nominations from colleagues before finally selecting Alzheimer’s Society. After choosing a children’s charity last year, we were keen to lend our support to people at the other end of the age spectrum.”

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YORKSHIRE Cancer Research has been announced as the official charity partner of current county champions Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC).

Through the two-year partnership, which covers the 2015 and 2016 seasons respectively, YCCC along with its players, staff and supporters will be encouraged to get behind Yorkshire Cancer Research and play their part in supporting and promoting a range of exciting activities aimed at reducing the impact of cancer in Yorkshire, especially in young people.

The partnership embraces the whole of Yorkshire cricket including the Yorkshire Cricket Board that administers the grassroots game, the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation encouraging children to take up the game and the elite level through YCCC. The partnership aims to reach the full cricket community, raising awareness of the disease that kills 253 people every week in Yorkshire and has survival rates below the national average.

Andy Dawson, commercial director at YCCC, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Yorkshire Cancer Research for the next two years. We believe that we can make a real difference by creating much needed awareness to improve cancer outcomes in Yorkshire. We will be planning lots of activity both at Headingley Cricket Ground and through recreational cricket around the region.”

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AS part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, Form Bespoke Jewellers delivered a cash gift of £775 to children’s hospice Martin House.

Earlier in the year, to mark its milestone, the jeweller ran a competition which asked customers to chart where they had travelled with their jewellery for the chance to win a bespoke 9ct white gold diamond ‘globe’ pendant crafted in Form’s Yorkshire workshop.

Form also committed to donating the equivalent value of the pendant to the winner’s chosen charity.

After receiving hundreds of stories which were charted on a world map, the winner was Martin Bland, who chose Martin House in Wetherby in memory of Annabelle Brass, a friend’s foster daughter who passed away at the hospice.

Form director Tim Swann said: “Here at Form, we wanted to give something back to our loyal customers whilst also involving them in marking our achievement of longevity. We build strong relationships with our customers as we work so closely with them on a piece of jewellery that is very special to them. That’s why we chose to include a local charity close to our customer’s hearts to be the one we would support.”