CHARITY WRAP UP 2019

As a new year (and new decade, can you believe it?!) begins, it’s that time again to look back on the year in charity donations. 2019 was another year filled with many new experiences both big and small, from cooking classes to theme parks! More importantly, in 2019 Experience Days donated to more charities than ever before. Here at Experience Days, we are proud to be involved with and support a number of charities and charitable causes through our charity scheme. Offering two different forms of donation, we are committed to being an engaged and responsible corporate citizen by giving back to those who deserve it!

To reflect, we’ve got in touch with a few of the charities we have donated to in the past 6 months to find out how their events went, and how it has impacted their organisation. Read on to meet just a few of the amazing charities making a difference, today:

  We Care Worldwide

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

WE Care Worldwide is an independent charity set up and run by UK vets and nurses to provide much-needed veterinary care to street animals around the world. Currently WE Care is operating in Sri Lanka, where there are an estimated one million street dogs with no one to look out for them. We offer neutering, vaccination against rabies (which is fatal in both humans and animals) and a fully equipped, international standard veterinary hospital which is dedicated to providing 24-hour emergency care in critical situations. It is the only veterinary inpatient facility for street dogs on the island. We often see animals in states that are unimaginable and beyond anything we would ever see as vets in the UK. But street dogs are resilient, and we believe that they should be given every chance if there is a possibility of a full recovery. We also believe that high standard veterinary care shouldn’t be dependent on whether you are lucky enough to have an owner, so we provide our services to as many street dogs as possible, totalling around 8,000 in the 5 years that we have been operating in the south of Sri Lanka. We receive no government support, and are entirely reliant on the goodwill of animal lovers around the world who realise that the issues faced by street dogs globally are not only heart-breaking, but often entirely preventable.

Our biggest fundraising event of the year is our annual ball. The theme over previous years has been 'Winter Wonderland', however we held our event this year in a new venue, The Crowne Plaza in Newcastle with a new theme, 'Enchanted'. The event is vital to raise much-needed funds for the charity, and results in our supporters gaining a greater insight into the crucial work being carried out, but equally important to us is that our guests leave the event having been able to let their hair down and kick off the party season in style. We are already in the process of planning our 2020 ball, and we're getting spooky this year with a Halloween theme!

How did our donation help towards this event?

A much-anticipated part of the evening which creates a really exciting atmosphere for our guests is the live charity auction, hosted by Sky Sports Presenter, Pete Graves. We showcase a wide range of prize packages, from holidays, once in a lifetime experiences, memorabilia and meet and greets. The package donated from Experience Days featured in this year's auction and was a huge hit with our guests so really helped to increase the funds raised on the evening.

How much money did you raise during the event?

With the help of our donors and sponsors, WE Care Worldwide raised a spectacular £20,000.

How has this money impacted your organisation?

As you can well imagine, veterinary equipment and medicines are expensive, and the vast majority of these need to be shipped from the UK to Sri Lanka, which is also very costly. The funds raised at our annual ball helps to make sure the charity can continue its mission in providing a high standard of veterinary care to animals who would otherwise not have access to it.

  Inter-Care

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

Inter Care is a charity based in Syston, Leicester and are devoted to saving lives and alleviate suffering to patients in Africa. We work tirelessly with pharmaceutical companies, GP practices and the general public to collect surplus health care goods and medicines, and send regular gifts of treatment to over 100 health units across five sub-Saharan African Countries. We are entirely dependent on the donations from our supporters and the effort of our volunteers who create and build our consignments.

How did our donation help towards this event?

In November 2019, we had a curry night at an Indian buffet restaurant in Leicester. This fundraising event was an opportunity for our supporters to get together socially and enjoy an array of Indian cuisine with the chance to win in a great raffle at the end of the evening. Experience Days kindly donated a voucher for Afternoon for Tea for Two at Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire, which we promoted as our top prize for the raffle. All invitations included detail on our top prize and we advertised it on our social media too. The response was fantastic with over 90 people attending, and the couple who won the prize on the night were over the moon!

How much money did you raise during the event?

We raised over £1,300, which was more than the previous year. The raffle on its own raised £450. This was amazing; the guests loved the evening, and got fully involved for the chance to win.

How has this money impacted your organisation?

This money is enough for Inter Care to support one hospital with medical aid in Africa for a whole year! We are overwhelmed with this result and we are looking forward to sending out more parcels of medical aid this year. Thank you to our supporters and Experience Days who made this event extra special. Your gift could save so many lives in Africa. Thank you from the whole team at Inter Care.

  Age UK Portsmouth

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

Age UK Portsmouth is an independent, local registered charity, responsible for our own funding and services, and a brand partner of the National Age UK organisation. We support local vulnerable, isolated adults, veteran’s younger and older, people with health conditions or impairments, carers as well as elderly and sometimes frail people. Our mission is to help adults in Portsmouth & South East Hampshire enjoy a better quality of life, with a specific focus on all aspects of maintaining independence as we grow older. Our strategic plan reflects anticipated changes in our operating environment and sets clear direction for the organisation. Age UK Portsmouth will continue to respond to external changes and developments mindful of the changing needs of vulnerable adults. 

We have regularly responded to an ever-changing environment, including anticipated changes in commissioning, social care, society and not least, the changing expectations of older people. 2019 marks 80 years since Age UK Portsmouth opened our doors to help vulnerable older people in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. To celebrate this momentous anniversary, we organised an evening event on Friday 20th September 2019, including a raffle to which Experience Days kindly donated a raffle prize.

How did our donation help towards this event?

The raffle was a huge success, and we managed to raise an incredible £463.00, which included the Experience Days voucher you donated to us for the charity. The money raised from the raffle will allow Age UK Portsmouth to reach more vulnerable people and give them access to the help that they need.

How much money did you raise during the event?

£463.00

How has this money impacted your organisation?

As a small charity, the amount raised from this event and the raffle will go towards enabling us to continue to deliver these vital services to the community.

  Nurture UK

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

For over 13 years, Nurture UK has existed to provide sustained mental health and well being support to children and young people throughout their education. We develop and facilitate the implementation of nurturing interventions in educational settings to benefit pupils with social, emotional and/or mental health issues, and those at risk of exclusion. Nurturing interventions are educational, psychologist-designed, teacher-led interventions for children who feel disengaged and vulnerable in an educational setting. We deliver training to provide these interventions and consultancy support in schools throughout the UK to provide the most effective support to pupils through nurturing approaches.

Our most recent event was our annual event, Nurture UK Summer School. Summer School is our annual immersive four-day residential conference providing training for those new to, or looking to up skill themselves on best practices for working with and for the mental health and well-being of children in education. Education professionals throughout the UK are trained to provide effective support to all of their pupils, especially their most vulnerable learners, so that they can make the most of their education and contribute to their academic success later in life.

How did our donation help towards your charity event?

Experience Day's generosity meant that we were able to use their donation in our raffle that took place during our Summer School gala dinner.

How much money did you raise during the event?

We were able to raise £472!

How has this money impacted your organisation?

These funds will go towards training more education professionals throughout the UK to effectively support their pupils with social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties through a nurturing approach. With increasing numbers of children and young people affected by mental health and wellbeing issues inhibiting their progress and limiting their life chances, it is important now more so than ever to ensure that we increase the capacity for providing support to vulnerable pupils.

  Macmillan Art Show

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

The first Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show took place in 2003 with the primary aim of creating a prestigious quality event to raise much needed funds for Macmillan Cancer Support to help cancer patients and their families.

How did our donation help towards this event?

The raffle (prize draw) raised just under £1700 with this total going to support Macmillan.

How much money did you raise during the event?

To date this event has raised over £560K for Macmillan Cancer Support. The show is organised and produced by a committee of volunteers who are dedicated to making this a successful event.

How has this money impacted your organisation?

The artists include a wide range of recognised and emerging artists with each artists donating a minimum of 50% of proceeds of sale.

  Bliss

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

Bliss is the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick. Bliss champions the right for every baby born premature or sick to receive the best care. We achieve this by empowering families, influencing policy and practice, and enabling life-changing research. Our event was the BlissBaby Charter conference. The Bliss Baby Charter is an accreditation service for units to measure their ability to support babies and families through their neonatal journey. The conference focused on change management and best practice examples which would support babies to live fulfilling lives.

How did our donation help towards this event?

The donation enabled us to bring in a greater pool of healthcare professionals (nurses, doctors, therapists) to the event and to reward them for their endeavours.

How much money did you raise during the event?

Over £7,500

How has this money impacted your organisation?

This will enable us to create further training days for healthcare professionals so that they can learn and hear from other organisations who support parents and babies.

  Bethesda Hospice

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

We recently held a Charity Ball to raise funds for our specialist palliative care Hospice. We are the only Hospice in the Western Isles and are a 4 bedded unit that offers specialist care for those with life limiting illnesses. We are only partially funded by the local NHS Board and are required to fund-raise almost £400,000 per annum to keep operating.  Our charity ball had a fabulous auction and prize draw to help raise much needed funds.

How did our donation help towards this event?

The prize donated by Experience Days went towards our prize draw, which was a huge success, as was the whole night.

How much money did you raise during the event?

The night as a whole raised over £11,000 which is a huge sum for one event for us and our small community.  Having a diverse selection of items for the prize draw and auction is a big draw for people purchasing tickets and the Experience days voucher certainly helped with this.

How has this money impacted your organisation?

This money has been put towards the ongoing running costs of the Hospice, ensuring the continuity of care for those is need in our community.

  The Children’s Air Ambulance Service

Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.

The Children’s Air Ambulance is changing the face of paediatric care through the high-speed transfer of critically ill children. Right now, this free of charge service works alongside NHS transport teams to help fly paediatric patients to specialist treatment. It is the first and only dedicated paediatric helicopter emergency transfer service in the country.

How did our donation help towards this event?

The Experience Days voucher was added to the raffle as a prize for a Masquerade Ball at Thornton Hall & Spa Hotel.

How much money did you raise during the event?

The organisers raised just over £5k.

How has this money impacted your organisation?

Our charity doesn’t receive any government funding and relies entirely on voluntary donations to raise the £134,000 needed every month to run the service. Your support will help to keep hope alive for these patients and their families.

Thank you for reading! So, that concludes our end of year charity wrap up.

A huge thank you to all the charities for taking part, and all of your hard work over the past year. If you are interested in our charity scheme, you can read more here, or email your request to charity@experiencedays.com. We’d love to be a part in your amazing work!

Here’s to many more and a fantastic 2020!