As part of our commitment to the NECS Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, the Yorkshire and Humber Consultancy team have been working on building a partnership with Leeds Hospitals Charity (LHC).
LHC works with Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to support staff across all eight of the Trust’s hospital sites, to deliver first-class care for over a million patients and their families each year. This charity was selected as a number of the Yorkshire and Humber Consultancy team have received care, or had loved ones receive care, through Leeds Teaching Hospitals, and it felt appropriate to try and give back.
Over the last few weeks, the Yorkshire and Humber team have embarked on a Fundraising Fortnight, where they set a target of raising £500.
- They took part in an all-day treadmill and spin bike challenge, which was organised by the Children’s Hospital in aide of the British Transplant Games.
- Some lucky volunteers ran the York 10k, with the York Minster bells ringing as they ran by and spectators cheering on the “Leeds Hospitals Charity Girls”!
- They utilised their space in Wellington Place to hold a sell-out charity bake sale selling delicious cakes, cookies and the infamous millionaire shortbread.
In less than a fortnight, they exceeded their target, raising £630, which is a great achievement, and the team would like to express their gratitude for all the donations. They have now set their sights on achieving a new target of £1000 in total, by the end of the year. You can track how they’re doing here: NECS Yorkshire and Humber Team is fundraising for Leeds Hospitals Charity (justgiving.com)
To continue to grow the partnership, the team invited Kevin McKenna, the Corporate Partnerships Manager from LHC, to their August team meeting. Kevin talked through some examples of the projects that the charity has supported and the types of initiatives that the teams’ fundraising could help to support e.g. the development of the new Rob Burrow Centre for MND, sending a team to the British Transplant Games, and other local initiatives for ward staff.
The team found it extremely rewarding seeing the impact of their fundraising efforts, and the visit from Kevin generated some great discussions about other ways thy could continue to support this great cause.
Building this sustained partnership has really allowed the team to get more out of their CSR time. It has allowed them to feel more connected with the priorities in their local hospital Trust, and has led to the creation of a fundraising plan that draws on the diverse strengths of the team – whether that is baking for the bake sale, volunteering in one of their charity shops or taking part in an all-day treadmill challenge!
Caitlin O’Hara, Junior Consultant said: “It has been a really fun and rewarding couple of weeks. I’ve loved learning more about Leeds Hospitals Charity and getting the chance to meet a few people who work there and hearing more about the work that they support. It has also been a really nice way to bring the Yorkshire and Humber team together. We’re really looking forward to planning some more activities as a team to support this amazing cause!”
To keep up to date with the team’s fundraising plans for the future, check out our just giving page here.