CHARITY WRAP UP 2020
This has definitely felt like the shortest yet longest year of our lives (well it has to us) but I think we can all agree that saying goodbye to 2020 felt fantastic, let's hope for a better 2021! This last year has been the toughest year yet for many charities all over the country. However, we are proud to say that our donations have been able to raise incredible amounts of money for those in need through our charity scheme.
To look back on our charitable donations throughout 2020 we have contacted a few charities that we have supported over the past year, to find out how their events went and how our donation helped to impact their event. Read on to find out about the amazing charities, and how they are making a difference to those in need.
CHUF
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
CHUF (Children’s Heart Unit Fund) supports pioneering services that positively impact children and young people who are born with or who develop heart conditions. CHUF supports the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle which is one of only 2 hospitals in the UK that can provide paediatric heart transplant, and the only place for the most complex conditions. In addition we work with 6 other hospitals in the vast Northern region, allowing more Heart Heroes to access services closer to home.
Our vision is to inspire hope and enable Heart Heroes to reach their full potential.
We do this by raising money to pay for:
-Specialist medical equipment.
-Holistic services that inspire hope and support Heart Heroes to reach their full potential.
-Specialist staffing & research that the NHS simply cannot provide.
-Events and activities to give Heart Heroes the opportunity to develop and progress their skills as well as build positive memories with their loved ones.
Each year, aided by our trusty supporters and raffle volunteers, CHUF holds a Christmas raffle. The proceeds help us to achieve our goals beyond the festive period and into the new year.
How did our donation help towards this event?
Owing to the pandemic, CHUF endeavoured to make 2020’s Christmas raffle as Covid-secure as possible; to reduce unnecessary contact for our supporters and make prizes as accessible and attractive as possible. Experience Days’ donation of a £50 e-voucher, meant that not only could the prize be sent to the winner contact-free, but would allow them to choose from a range of activities in a location and at a future time that would be suitable and safe.
How much money did you raise during the event?
The 2020 CHUF Christmas raffle raised over £6,000 to support our work with Heart Heroes.
How has this money impacted your organisation?
As this income is unrestricted, it means that CHUF can apply it to the areas most needed and will ensure CHUF can continue to commit vital equipment and services in 2021.
Grace House
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
Grace House enriches the lives of disabled children young people and their families across the North East. We offer respite care to disabled children along with support services for the families including counselling, holistic therapies, family activities and much more. 2020 was a difficult year, however we have continued to offer all of our services over the course of the pandemic. These services have been described as a lifeline for our families.
In 2020 the only live event that was able to go ahead was our Annual Golf Day. Although there were restrictions on the day and it had a very different feel to it the event was a sell out and everyone enjoyed the day!
How did our donation help towards this event?
The voucher from Experience Days was part of our raffle and was very gratefully received by the winner! With other events being cancelled throughout the year we needed to make as much income as possible from this one opportunity and the very generous donation from Experience Days helped with this. I think everyone is looking forward to a time when they can get out and experience live events again so it was a great prize.
How much money did you raise during the event?
The Golf Day raised a fantastic £7,000 for Grace House!
How has this money impacted your organisation?
Grace House is a small charity and £7,000 is an incredible amount of money for us, especially during a pandemic when our services are even more in demand. To put it into context £7,000 could fund Grace House for a month and enables us to support even more families across our region and introduce new services such as nurturing groups and youth groups for family carers and young people.
Brighterway
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
Brighterway is the charity for Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust provides community health, specialist mental health and learning disability services for people across the South of England.
The charity aims to improve and enhance service user and staff experience by supporting projects that go above and beyond NHS funding.
In December 2020 we held our first virtual raffle. In the previous year, we held a Christmas fayre with a range of activities, stalls and entertainment but unfortunately, with the covid restrictions in place, we could only go ahead with the raffle and had to adapt it to make it virtual.
How did our donation help towards this event?
The generous donation from Experience days allowed us to have a wide range of prizes for our event. The voucher was perfect for our event as there’s something for everyone to enjoy and it gave the winner something to look forward to.
‘I was over the moon to win an experience day through the Brighterway Christmas raffle. I can’t wait to look at what exciting adventures and opportunities may be available' - Amelia (Raffle winner!)
How much money did you raise during the event?
From selling tickets to the virtual event, the charity raised £1,277.
How has this money impacted your organisation?
The money will allow us to continue improving and enhancing services for our staff and service users.
‘Thank you Experience days for the generous donation, having such an exciting prize in the draw encouraged people to buy tickets and raise more money for the charity during what has been a very challenging year’ Ian Hynd – Head of Brighterway Charity
Brendoncare
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
Since the start of the pandemic, Brendoncare has been supporting clubs members with a community support service. Over recent months, the Brendoncare Clubs team has been working hard to give their club members a memorable festive season.
As well as sending gifts and Christmas cards, the team organised their first Clubs Christmas virtual event. On Friday, December 11th, a host of entertainers took to the virtual stage, including Brendoncare HR Co-ordinator Shalani from Central Office, Curly the Busker, an Elvis Tribute, and Calvin, a local student. Each of the performers kindly gave their time free of charge.
How did our donation help towards this event?
All Brendoncare club members were entered into a free “12 Days of Christmas” prize draw. Your generous donation was one of the prizes for this free draw.
How has this event impacted your organisation?
The team received some lovely feedback following the event. Rosh Brown, a club member and volunteer from Gosport Clubs, said:
“It was a thoroughly entertaining afternoon, well put together, great entertainment. It was so nice to see everyone smiling in these difficult times.”
Angela Hood, a Gosport Voices club member, commented:
“Excellent, really enjoyed it, marvellous how Brendoncare really does keep us all connected, thank you very much indeed. I am sure everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.”
Sara Nicholls, the Community Support Service Manager at Brendoncare Clubs, said:
“We wanted to make the event really special and bring everyone together after a challenging year. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces, thanks to all our wonderful performers on the day. We were delighted with the response to our first virtual Clubs Christmas event.”
Meanwhile, Wendy from Southampton Voices was in fine voice:
“THANK YOU! It was obvious that a lot of thought and effort had gone into putting together an hour’s enjoyment for us, and it was really fun. Well done to everyone involved and thank you again for giving us a virtual festive treat; it’s greatly appreciated.”
The Passage
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
The Passage offers a wide range of services, all year round, to meet the needs of homeless and vulnerable people. Our aim is to help people to address the issues that have contributed to them becoming homeless, and to enable them to move on to live safe, happy and fulfilling lives.
Our services are split between our Resource Centre, which provides more immediate support, our three residential projects which provide accommodation while we secure long term solutions for people and our homelessness prevention projects which reduce the risk of repeat homelessness.
Our most recent event was a virtual production of our Night Under the Stars Concert and Auction, hosted by comedian Rory Bremner and classical music radio broadcaster Petroc Trelawny, the Orion Orchestra and conductor Toby Purser perform special performances filmed at the London Coliseum: Home of English National Opera, joined onstage by violinist Shlomy Dobrinsky, tenor William Morgan, baritone Huw Montague Rendall, lyric soprano Nadine Benjamin; and renowned vocal accompanist Gary Matthewman.
The London Philharmonic Choir and London Youth Choirs will present a special virtual performance of Bogoroditse Dyevo from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers.
Enjoy some festive readings from the lovely mezzo-soprano Dame Ann Murray, broadcaster and journalist Sue Lawley and one of Britain's best-loved story makers, Michael Morpurgo. We also held an online auction, with a variety of spectacular lots, from experience days to luxury hampers.
How did our donation help towards this event?
We used your open-ended experience days voucher option which contributed towards £70 of the donations we received.
How much money did you raise during the event?
£41,288
How has this money impacted your organisation?
The money raised will go directly towards supporting homeless people this winter, particularly those now at risk of unemployment and losing their home due to the continuing pandemic. Marvellous events such as this one help to ensure that we can continue to be there, offering frontline services to those who need us the most.
Actors of Dionysus
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
Actors of Dionysus is a charity dedicated to making magic from myth, keeping the Classics alive and accessible to communities across the UK. We run a popular free workshop programme across the UK reaching thousands of students in state-funded schools, tour exciting and visually striking productions of ancient Greek theatre and run several fundraising events across some of England’s most beautiful sites.
Our most recent event was a digital extravaganza entitled ‘the Big Night In’ which saw us bring together our community in a celebration of all things theatrical over zoom. We found it particularly heart-warming that we could all come together at a time when the covid-19 pandemic has kept us apart for so long.
How did our donation help towards this event?
The donation from Experience Days was super in helping us drum up interest in the event, several of our donors were excited to see such a fun prize as an afternoon tea for 2 at the wonderful 5-star Montcalm Hotel.
How much money did you raise during the event?
The event raised £6903 for Actors of Dionysus
How has this money impacted your organisation?
This money has meant that we have been able to greenlight a hugely important project in 2021. The Black Voices in Myth project is a theatrical research and development period that allows a team of black artists to devise and develop a creative output to encourage critical thinking around Classics – particularly to combat a white colonial view of history.
We will be able to pay artists who have seen their income fall significantly due to Covid-19, indeed the Arts & Entertainment industry was set to suffer over 50% job loss prior to emergency Government funding and is still at huge risk with the largest percentage of job losses of any sector according to a Covid-19 Impact Assessment.
Thank you so much for supporting our charity, your support meant a great deal to us.
The Blue Tangerine Federation
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
St Luke’s School in Redbourn is a registered charity and part of the Blue Tangerine Federation of Special Educational Needs Schools in Hertfordshire. We provide specialist teaching to children with Special Education Needs including autism, downs syndrome and genetic disorders.
Last November we hosted an online auction to raise funds to continue our vital work. This was our only fundraising event of 2020.
How did our donation help towards this event?
Your donations helped us to raise over £2500 which will go towards funding vital resources for our children including sensory equipment, music therapy and learning resources.
How has this money impacted your organisation?
We cannot continue the vital work we do without the help of organisations like yourself. We are truly grateful for your contribution especially during this difficult time for everyone.
Cavernoma Support
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
The Cavernoma Society is a small UK-based charity supporting those affected by a rare type of brain and spine lesion called a cavernoma. Cavernomas are made up of abnormal blood vessels and can leak blood into the surrounding brain and spinal tissue causing strokes, seizures, cognitive problems, and sometimes disability. They look like raspberries and 1 in 600 people have one in the UK, often without knowing they do.
Our Raspberry Squad Christmas Quiz was designed to not only cheer our members up over the lockdown period and keep their brains occupied, but also raise vital funds for our charity so we can continue to provide the vital support they need.
How did our donation help towards this event?
Your donation meant that more people signed up and took part as they could see the high quality of the prizes. It also helped to show our partnership with different brands, which always raises awareness.
How much money did you raise during the event?
We raised £500, which is amazing considering that the Quiz was free to sign up for and we were only asking for donations.
How has this money impacted your organisation?
£500 is a lot of money for us as a small charity. The Covid-19 pandemic has really slowed down our fundraising income in the last 12 months as we've been unable to host physical fundraising events, so this was not only a quick and easy event for us, but it was fun and it showed us how great digital events can be. This money will be used to further our counselling support services which we have seen a growing demand for during this pandemic.
Terrence Higgins Trust Charity
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
The Terrence Higgins Trust is a charity that, my partner has been a Volunteer Charity Ambassador for nearly a year now. The charity is the UK's leading HIV and sexual health charity. They support people living with HIV and amplify their voices, and help the people using their services to achieve good sexual health. As we have friends who are living with HIV, it is a charity close to our hearts and this is the reason why we choose to support its work; Under the Drag Persona of Rubella Vaxine (or Miss Ruby V to her friends) my partner hosts fundraising events such as the Online Halloween Quiz Night that Experience Days so kindly donated the start prize for.
How did our donation help towards this event?
Your gift voucher helped enormously to gain attendees at the event. We chose for the attendees to make a donation only rather than selling tickets, due to the economic crisis that the country has found itself in due to lockdown restrictions. Although we didn’t hit the thousands, we felt that due to the large number of attendees as the quiz, which we attribute to the grand prize offer, it also helped raise awareness for the charity as we explained several times throughout the evening a little bit about what the charity does and where the money goes to.
How much money did you raise during the event?
£130
How has this money impacted your organisation?
It has gone towards contributing to the end of HIV transmissions and improve sexual health, supporting people living with and affected by HIV and poor sexual health and ensuring that the voices of people affected by HIV are heard.
Testing services are provided for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and people are helped by using their services to achieve good sexual health. As well as providing services, they campaign on issues from relationships and sex education in schools to the proper funding of HIV services. They also run community projects such as Positive Voices, which supports people living with HIV to tell their own stories, and Work Positive, which helps people living with HIV into employment. On behalf of Public Health England, they lead ‘It Starts With Me’, the national HIV prevention programme. For more information please visit: https://www.tht.org.uk
Northamptonshire Health Charity
Tell us about your organisation and your most recent event.
Northamptonshire Health Charity is an independent charity that supports both Northampton General Hospital (NGH) and the community hospitals and mental health services under Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) above and beyond that which the NHS provides. Our mission is to enhance patient care in all departments, wards and across services by providing the funding to; support staff development and training, buy the very best equipment and improve the environment.
The revenue received from the government pays for basic services and infrastructure. If we want the latest cutting-edge equipment and treatments in our local hospitals, then fundraising and donations are one of the quickest ways to achieve this.
Naturally, during the COVID19 pandemic the charity has been instrumental in coordinating support for the frontline NHS staff by funding a wide-range of project and initiatives. The event in question was a day that the Human Resources department at NGH marked the first Royal College of Nursing, Nursing Support Workers Day on 23rd November 2020.
How did our donation help towards this event?
The donation of your voucher really made a difference as it was great to be able to offer such a fantastic prize for the staff in the draw.
How has our donation impacted your organisation?
This wasn’t actually a fundraising event but a kind of ‘pick me up’ and recognition event for Nursing Support Workers across the hospital.
Nevertheless, it’s always a great exercise in raising awareness about the charity because not all staff are aware that we exist.
Thank you for reading our end of year charity wrap up!
A massive thank you to all the charities for taking part and for all your hard work over this year. If you are interested in our charity scheme you can read more about it here; we would love to be a part of the amazing work you do!
