The Leeds and Manchester offices of Reward Finance Group has raised £25,500 for its two chosen charities over the past 14 months, despite the pandemic causing all its fundraising events to be cancelled.
The money has been presented to Huddersfield-based Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, which provides help to hundreds of children and their families across West Yorkshire, and Chorley-based Lancashire Mind, which works to help improve mental health and wellbeing across the region.
Having chosen to support the charities, the Reward team had to devise creative ways of raising the funds without events.
During lockdown the team donated the money they were saving by not having to commute, together with the cost of the usual takeaway coffees, lunchtime sandwiches, and parking charges.
The two offices then challenged each other to walk the distance of the boundary of their respective counties, which is 450 miles around Yorkshire and 417 miles for Lancashire, over a two-week period. However, instead of walking the counties, the Reward team and its supporters smashed the Boundaries Challenge by walking 4,500 miles, which is nearly twice around the whole of the UK, raising £4,800 collectively for both of Reward’s nominated charities.
The total amount raised for the two charities was then match funded by the company.
Fundraising lead at Lancashire Mind, Emma Bateson, said: “On behalf of everyone at Lancashire Mind, thank you for raising an incredible amount for our charity,” she said. “Your support means so much to us and all those who access our support and services. You have put an amazing amount of time and effort into the numerous fundraising activities and ideas and, as a local, independent charity, this donation will make a real difference.
“Thanks also for raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing which is so important. A person with high mental wellbeing is more likely to be happier, more resilient, and less likely to develop a mental health condition. Donations like yours make this vision achievable; providing projects and services that remove barriers and enable people to take steps towards improving their mental wellbeing.”