This article features the following stories:

• Buckinghamshire Mind is the named charity of Monodraught
• Seymour Taylor supports Chiltern Rangers
• Adam Stronach wins prestigious law journal award for expert witness work
• WheelPower’s charity bike ride aims to raise £55,000
• Dragons’ Den scheme boosts Bucks New University students’ entrepreneurial ambitions
• Buckinghamshire New University to host The National Disability Arts Collection & Archive
• University Campus Aylesbury Vale receives £1.3m funding support for digital innovation centre
• B P Collins promotes seven lawyers 
• The Inspired Diabetic
• Home Instead Afternoon Tea

Buckinghamshire Mind is the named charity of Monodraught

Buckinghamshire Mind is a truly community based organisation and, as such, is keen to build relationships with local businesses. “For example, we are the named charity of Monodraught, the Company of the Year at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards 2016,” says Kaya Mallinder, Fundraising and Communications Officer, Buckinghamshire Mind.

Why did Monodraught decide to name a charity to support?

“Our belief at Monodraught is that motivating our staff, maintaining their loyalty and ultimately getting more value from them is much more than just measuring and presenting management metrics,” says Andrew McCubbin, Managing Director of Monodraught. “Having a strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy is essential. A key element of our CSR policy is partnering with a charity - and this isn’t the domain of only big companies.

“It was essential for us that we did not want to interact with a charity purely to make us feel good or so that we can be viewed by our customers as doing something philanthropic. Charities are much more than ‘nice organisations’ that do ‘good things’. They are a brand with customer journeys and commercial value, the same as corporates like ourselves. They also carefully measure their social impact and have to be acutely financially aware. The benefit of partnering with a charity is a two-way relationship and maintaining that balance is essential for any successful partnership.”

Seymour Taylor supports Chiltern Rangers

Many Buckinghamshire businesses have taken it upon themselves to help out local charities and social enterprises, including High Wycombe accountants Seymour Taylor.

Seymour Taylor first read about Chiltern Rangers’ ‘Be a Ranger for a Day’ team bonding sessions in the September 2016 charity newsletter edition and began to plan their own day in conjunction with the target they set for themselves to complete a minimum of 100 hours of CSR during their year long Centenary celebration.

Check out the video from one of the days that Seymour Taylor spent with Chiltern Rangers, helping to clear scrub and improve access to local land >

The work was undertaken in February 2017 when volunteers from Seymour Taylor helped to clear scrub enabling improved access and enjoyment of the land by local people. Seymour Taylor have since achieved 60 hours of CSR on behalf of Chiltern Rangers, and they aren’t the only business to support the social enterprise, as you can see in this video >

You can join Chiltern Rangers for a physical and de-stressing workout on one of their ‘Be a Ranger for a Day’ team building sessions in the Chilterns. Contact them on 01494 474486 or info@chilternrangers.co.uk.

Adam Stronach wins prestigious law journal award for expert witness work

Adam Stronach, a principal at London and Buckinghamshire accountants, business and tax advisers Harwood Hutton, has been selected as an outright winner of a Lawyer Monthly Expert Witness Award 2017 in recognition of his specialised knowledge and experience as an expert witness and litigation support consultant.

The Lawyer Monthly Expert Witness Awards recognise experts, expert advisers and shadow advisers who have superior knowledge and experience within their field and have a proven record in assisting either third parties, courts, tribunals, arbitration hearings and official enquiries to help them understand the issues in a case or report and thereby reach a sound and just decision.

Adam, a member of The Academy of Experts and The Expert Witness Institute and chairman of the UK’s Network of Independent Forensic Accountants, said he was thrilled to be recognised by one of the industry’s leading magazines: “I am delighted to receive a Lawyer Monthly Expert Witness Award. My workload as an expert accountant and business valuer is varied, with no two cases the same, although often you can see patterns in the work. For instance, in the recent past I have been dealing with a number of business valuations in shareholder and partnership disputes, as well as quantum work connected with interest rate hedging and loan products.”

WheelPower’s charity bike ride aims to raise £55,000

The Tour de Vale Bike Ride is back, with three glorious routes starting and finishing at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. This year’s ride takes place on Sunday 11th June.

Touring the scenic countryside, each route offers water stops and is equipped with marshals, first aid and support vehicles for your safety. With the 2,000 capacity expected to sell out, cyclists are urged to enter early to avoid disappointment.

Why take part?

Organised by WheelPower, the Mix96 Tour de Vale Bike Ride has raised funds which have transformed the lives of thousands of disabled children and newly injured adults in the last 14 years. As a local charity, WheelPower rely on the tremendous support of fundraisers and the local community. Every pound raised by you will help them continue their vital work at Stoke Mandeville Stadium and beyond. Jess Stretton MBE, Paralympic Gold Medallist, will be handing out the medals on the day of the ride.

Learn more at www.tourdevale.com.

Download an entry form here >

Dragons’ Den scheme boosts Bucks New University students’ entrepreneurial ambitions

Buckinghamshire New University has presented a total of £11,000 funding to four students pursuing entrepreneurial business ideas through its latest Dragons’ Den competition.

A dozen students at the University in Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, pitched their ideas to a panel of judges including one of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs and long-term university backer Mike Clare for funding of £2,000-£5,000 each. The judging panel also included Nick Coleman, founder of The Snaffling Pig Co, which makes a range of flavoured pork crackling products and received £70,000 investment on BBC Dragons’ Den; Imran Malik, Former Senior Publicist at Columbia Records and director of Imran Malik Ltd; and Amelia-Eve Warden, co-founder of P&C PR. 

Mike Clare said: “I was hugely impressed by all of the entrants and delighted that we were able to support some of the students in their business ventures. I look forward to seeing how the ideas progress.”

Buckinghamshire New University to host The National Disability Arts Collection & Archive

Buckinghamshire New University will host The National Disability Arts Collection & Archive (NDACA) from April 2018.

The £1 million project will be delivered by the disability arts organisation Shape Arts and bring together 2,500 objects celebrating the history of the disability arts movement. As part of a range of activities nationwide Bucks New University will host a learning wing of NDACA’s digital and physical items in the Library at its campus in Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe.

University Campus Aylesbury Vale receives £1.3m funding support for digital innovation centre

Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP) is delighted to provide £1.3m in capital funds to University Campus Aylesbury Vale to create an exciting Digital Innovation Hub to support business innovation and growth in Bucks.

The Digital Innovation Hub is aimed at making University Campus Aylesbury Vale, in Walton Street, Aylesbury, a centre for start-up businesses in the digital sector, with facilities including a cyber-security suite and virtual reality engineering design studio. The Campus, a partnership between Buckinghamshire New University and Aylesbury College, will enable small and early-stage high-growth businesses to access advice, support and incubation spaces and enjoy use of the wider facilities and opportunities offered at both institutions’ sites.

University Campus Aylesbury Vale is a purpose-built campus for the delivery of degree and professional development courses in Aylesbury, providing degree level courses and professional development programmes through Bucks New University and Aylesbury College. It has more than 300 students studying courses including foundation degrees in Computing and Business Management.

Andrew M. Smith, Chairman of Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted to be funding this key project to create an exciting hub where business and education can interact and which meet BTVLEP and regional skills priorities in design and technology.

Andrew added: “University Campus Aylesbury Vale’s Digital Innovation Hub will be the area’s leading destination and ideal environment for businesses and entrepreneurs in design and digital technology sectors seeking support for start-up, innovation and growth. The new facility will be a hub for business-to-business interaction and access to apprenticeship and higher skills development, all of which will help to retain expertise in Bucks and attract talent from other areas.”

The development will incorporate a business service to meet graduate level skills gaps and a technical design facility to support the development of technical businesses and inspire the region’s young people to consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects.

B P Collins promotes seven lawyers 

B P Collins in Gerrards Cross will end a successful year by promoting seven of its lawyers on 1 May 2017.

Maria Mowberry and Martina Razaq will become partners in the property practice, and Claire Filer and Fran Hipperson will become partners in the family team. The Wills, Trusts and Probate team will see Sharon Heselton and Dominic Ibbs becoming senior associate and associate respectively. Finally, partner Gary Kiely, whose views on private client issues are regularly sought by the national media, will join the firm as the Head of the Wills, Trusts and Probate team.

The Inspired Diabetic

High Wycombe resident Lyndon Wissart recently wrote The Inspired Diabetic, an account of how he fought and then cured his Type 2 diabetes in 105 days, without medication, using natural methods. The book was launched in London in January.

Type 2 diabetes affects four million people in Britain and over four hundred million people worldwide. Changes in lifestyle and diet mean that it is one of the fastest growing diseases on the planet. It is also the subject of growing media interest as journalists become aware of the scale of the disease.

Lyndon has made media appearances to promote the book and the cause behind it, including being a guest on Wycombe Sound with Pippa Sawyer and giving a series of public talks around the south-east, including at the O2 Arena's NY-LON venue.

Find out more about Lyndon’s book and how to fight Type 2 diabetes: www.lyndonwissart.com.

Home Instead Afternoon Tea

Home Instead are now taking bookings for their Afternoon Tea, organised in Partnership with the Holiday Inn and Aylesbury Performing Arts Centre (APAC). This event takes place on Thursday 27th April from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The afternoon tea is for isolated older persons, where they can get the support they need from experienced carers and the Holiday Inn Staff.  They also get to socialise with others and indulge in a live performance provided by APAC.

There are limited spaces for this event and the last time it booked up very quickly. If anyone you know could benefit from this event, please ask them to get in touch with Bal Harrington on 07956 361631.

Send your news to us

Email news@bbf.uk.com with your news and it could feature in a future member round-up.