B P Collins to give £10,000 to Buckinghamshire charities

B P Collins’ £10,000 charity fund opened for nominations on 2nd September 2019 via its partnership with Heart of Bucks – a leading community foundation in Buckinghamshire.

Over the past four years, B P Collins’ charity fund has supported local charities and community projects that deliver positive social impact and improve lives. The fund focuses on meeting three objectives, which are aligned with B P Collins’ CSR values: building stronger communities, providing better futures, and helping create safer lives. As long as the organisation nominated achieves one or more of these criteria, there are no limits on what the donation can be used for.

The awards will range from £500 right up to £3,500. Nominations are open until 30th September 2019.

For more information on criteria and to nominate, please visit: www.heartofbucks.org

Lucy Wood, B P Collins’ partner and Heart of Bucks trustee, said: “From youth groups to women’s refuge centres to mental health charities, B P Collins welcomes nominations from all charities and community organisations in South Bucks, Aylesbury, Wycombe and the Chiltern district. So much good work is happening in our county and we’d like to help local community organisations as much as we can with our donations.”

The Countess Howe DL, chairman of Heart of Bucks, added: “We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with B P Collins to award grants from their stewardship fund. The awards they make will provide essential funding for charities and community groups carrying out vital work across Buckinghamshire in order to meet local need. As leaders in CSR, we are delighted that B P Collins have again chosen Heart of Bucks to help them make a real difference locally.”

After the nomination deadline, the shortlisted organisations are guaranteed to receive a donation. They will be invited to give a short presentation to staff at B P Collins’ office in Gerrards Cross in November, who will then vote for the charities in order of preference.

B P Collins is the first law firm in the country to achieve gold status in the national Corporate Social Responsibility Accreditation scheme which recognises CSR efforts in the environmental, community, workplace and philanthropy arenas. B P Collins has also been awarded silver by the International CSR Excellence Awards which were held at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London in July 2019.

£13,000 donated to The Poppy Factory to support injured veterans into work

Shoppers in Buckinghamshire showed their support for ex-servicemen and women by casting their votes in store for a charity that helps veterans with health conditions back into work.

Customers gave their backing to The Poppy Factory, which was awarded £13,000 in four separate Bags of Help grants raised through carrier bag sales at Tesco stores in Buckingham, Amersham, Gerrards Cross and Princes Risborough.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the community funding project. The funding will help The Poppy Factory support more wounded, sick and injured veterans in the area who need help moving into employment.

A team from the Buckingham store delivered a £4,000 cheque by hand to the charity’s historic factory site in Richmond-upon-Thames on August 6th. They included Olly Gibbons, Lead Manager in Store, Adam Johnson, Stock Control Manager, and Customer Assistant Kevin Dorrill, who is Vice Chairman of Deanshanger and Wicken Royal British Legion. A further £4,000 was raised by the Amersham Superstore, along with £4,000 from the Superstore in Gerrards Cross and £1,000 from the Superstore in Princes Risborough.

Deirdre Mills, Chief Executive of The Poppy Factory, said: “We are so grateful to everyone in Buckinghamshire who showed their support for our wounded, injured and sick veterans by using their tokens to vote for The Poppy Factory, and to the Tesco Buckingham team for taking the trouble to visit us in person.

“This important funding will go directly to our employability programme, helping us support many more ex-Forces men and women who want to flourish in new jobs and careers, no matter what health conditions and other barriers they may face.”

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions are awarded funding.

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

£8,500 raised by Hedsor House for Heart of Bucks

Hedsor House, the privately-owned stately home in Buckinghamshire, awarded a £8,500 cheque to Heart of Bucks on July 23rd. Selected as the venue’s 2018/19 charity of the year by house owners the Shephard family, contributions were made at various fundraiser events and by couples marrying at Hedsor throughout the last twelve months.

The Shephard family - Alexander, Janey, Nick, Mark and Hamish - said: “Supporting and improving the lives of the people in our local community will always be a duty that we are passionate about. We are thrilled that, alongside our generous Hedsor House couples, we have managed to raise this sum for Heart of Bucks, and very much hope these funds can make a positive difference to some wonderful causes. Our charitable efforts at Hedsor are ongoing, and we endeavour to support fundraising initiatives such as these well into the future.”

Chair of Heart of Bucks, Countess Elizabeth Howe, said: “We are immensely grateful to Hedsor House for choosing us as their charity of the year. Heart of Bucks is a community foundation committed to improving the lives of local people through our grant funding. Hedsor House have raised a truly wonderful amount of money which will help to support the vital charities and community groups that are working tirelessly to make positive change in Buckinghamshire.”

The funds raised will be allocated to the Heart of Bucks #iwill fund. This fund attracts 100% match-funding from Step Up To Serve, The National Lottery Community Fund and the Government Office for Civil Society who have invested £2million this year to fund groups delivering youth social action opportunities, such as volunteering, fundraising and campaigning, across the UK.

Local business marks its 10th anniversary with a £1,000 skydive for the Hospice of St Francis

Not only did local businesswoman Alison Page of Alison Page Marketing raise £1,000 for the 40th anniversary of the Hospice of St Francis, but she went one step further to make sure that the team back at the Hospice were also able to celebrate with a special cake showcasing her skydive and the 10th anniversary of her marketing business.

Kate Phipps-Wiltshire, CEO of The Hospice of St Francis, commented: “Alison’s skydiving themed cake featuring her in free fall - a gift for our hard-working community nursing team - really was the icing on the cake after she and over 25 others jumped out of a plane for us last Sunday (we’ve had over 40 skydivers this year!) helping us to celebrate our 40th birthday. Raising £18,490.21 in total, with Alison contributing an impressive £1,000 to the fundraising effort, the skydive was a fantastic fundraiser for us and all participants enjoyed the adrenalin-rush as they descended 12,000 feet before floating serenely to the ground!

“As a member of our Corporate Partner Network, Alison’s been great at helping us spread the word about this popular event and we’ve already got four skydivers signed up to leap for us in March 2020! Many congratulations to all who participated and particularly to Alison who’s celebrating a joint milestone of a big birthday this year and running her marketing business for 10 years.”

Alison concludes: “I achieved a lifetime’s ambition by doing a skydive to support the Hospice and to mark my marketing consultancy’s 10th birthday. I’d always wanted to do a skydive but never got around to it and the Hospice gave me the perfect reason to make my dream come true as it was an awesome experience to see our beautiful countryside from a different angle. I’m delighted that my marketing consultancy clients, such as local companies Stringer Mann Financial Planners, Indigo Tree Digital and Greenfleets Vehicle Leasing, plus my friends and family helped me raise £1,000. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would like to thank all the Hospice staff who have worked so hard to mark the 40th anniversary in such style.”  

Further donations to the Hospice can be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-page11

SME Mental Health awareness workshops

A message from 360 Wellbeing

Gaining a better understanding of mental health and receiving relevant training on the subject, you can argue, is of greater importance to sole traders, micro businesses and SMEs than the larger organisations. Where finances are tight, employee numbers are minimal, if at all, with stresses and strains being felt by everyone, including the families!

The SME Mental Health awareness workshop has been developed by founders of 360Wellbeing, Amelia Thorpe and Nick Wilson, who have both previously set up and run successful businesses. They relate to the stress, difficulties and challenges faced, as they have been through similar times and continue to do so with their new business.

For them though, the difference is they know how to manage such daily challenges, so problems aren’t as overwhelming or in control of their lives, and they wanted to share this knowledge with as many people as possible.

Why attend?

• Reduce the risk of Mental Health impacting negatively on you and your business, reduce business costs in recruitment, absenteeism, presenteeism, and increase productivity, whilst creating a workplace culture that promotes wellbeing and solid values.
• Gain a better understanding of Mental Health, recognise signs and symptoms, signposting safely.
• Identify what changes can be made, what can be implemented within your workplace or life and the cost-effective options that are available to you and your business. 
• Understand the importance of promoting Self-Awareness and Self-Care, further developing yourself, identifying your stressors, learn how to manage any symptoms you may have, make a difference to others and save a life.

For more information on booking a mental health awareness workshop, call 07434 006110 or email [email protected]. More information is also available on this flyer.