Inspired by ‘Donate a Day’ from ITV’s Daybreak programme, the Business Garage team took a day out from their normal activity in July to donate their time to Helen & Douglas House to help them with their usual fund raising activities.
We did this by splitting into three teams, two of the teams took to the streets of Abingdon and Didcot whilst the other took to the phones. Our aim was to acquire raffle and auction prizes as part of the Helen & Douglas House ‘Corporate Challenge Day’. Helen & Douglas House offer specialist respite, emergency and end-of-life care, for children and young adults with life-shortening conditions in addition to practical support and counselling for the whole family.
It is fair to say that we were completely overwhelmed with the warm and generous response we received from the local businesses and residents of our neighbouring communities. We received a number of donations ranging from boxes of wine to restaurant vouchers and family days out. We also collected items from our staff members to be deposited at the Didcot Helen & Douglas house charity shop. It was incredibly heart-warming to see the support given despite the current economic climate.
Jenny from Helen & Douglas House says: “We are so grateful to the staff at Business Garage for taking on the Helen & Douglas House Negotiator Challenge. It is fantastic for us to have a stock of good quality raffle prizes to support forthcoming fundraising events. Over 80% of the £4.5 million needed to run the two hospice houses has to be raised via voluntary donations. This means we are almost entirely reliant on the goodwill of individuals, groups, schools, and businesses within our catchment area.”
We would like to say a huge thank you to all business who contributed and a special thank you to:
Didcot: AVG, Boots, Premier Beauty, Segais, Cineworld
Abingdon: Limoncello, Forresters, Hallmark
Oxfordshire : Cotswold Wildlife Park (Burford), Shaw Gibbs (Oxford), Juice (Faringdon), TNT (Milton Park), Oxford Ice Rink
