Working Hard for Worthy Causes
Part of our CSR strategy is to always have charitable work taking place within the company. Over the years this has taken many forms, from Dress Down Fridays, to fun events that bring together all departments in the spirit of fundraising, to sponsoring members of the public. With our workforce constantly growing and staff encouraged to also get involved in motivational events outside of the office, the last year has seen more charitable activity than ever before. Below is a roundup of which organisations we’ve helped and what the donations go towards achieving.
Help for Heroes delivers support to wounded members of the Armed Forces and their families. Through a national network of Recovery Centres, they have so far helped over 4,000 veterans and military personnel suffering from life-changing injuries. OSL supported a local lady completing a Colossal Cupcake Challenge in aid of the charity, which involved baking and selling 1,000 cupcakes and raising an impressive £2,544.82.
Christmas Jumper Day saw all staff wearing festive knitwear (some of which even had flashing lights and sounds effects), as well as baking and selling cakes. This jolly event organised by Save the Children greatly improves the lives of children across the world and gives young people living in poverty in the UK the chance to fulfil their potential. As the slogan goes, it was an opportunity to “make the world better with a sweater” and the team raised £79.
Red Nose Day is a time for coming together to have a giggle, so we organised a pub quiz during lunchtime, which raised £40. Money from Red Nose Day goes to Comic Relief, helping people across the globe through a huge range of activities and initiatives.
The Daisy Appeal is fundraising for a unique, world-class facility based at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham. Once completed, it will provide earlier diagnosis and better survival for sufferers of heart disease, cancer and dementia through state-of-the-art equipment that can scan patients using radioactive tracers. OSL took donations through a weekly Dress Down Friday, raising £189.
Joy for Joel is a campaign run by Life for a Kid, supporting a little boy called Joel who was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy just before his third birthday. This means that he will soon require a wheelchair and other muscles will waste away over time, making mobility and all other areas of daily life very difficult. We sponsored local taxi driver Darren Fitzgerald, who ran the London Marathon in aid of this essential charity. Unfortunately we don’t know how much was raised as the container was sealed and then added to a larger pot, but every penny goes toward helping Joel to enjoy life to the full with his family and friends.
Care International was asking people to take part in a popular bike ride from London to Brighton, with funds used to rebuild areas of Nepal after two earthquakes destroyed homes, roads and key infrastructure, killing thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands in desperate need of assistance. Graduate Process Engineer Jonny Elvidge and his friends took part in the 50-mile ride on tandems, with OSL donating £200. We’re delighted to say that their £800 target was greatly surpassed, with the final figure standing at £2,075 – a staggering 259% of the goal!
OSL’s current beneficiary is Children with Cancer, a national charity funding research, welfare and campaigning projects to help children with all types of the life-threatening disease. Funds will be raised through Dress Down Fridays and other activities, and any visitors to OSL House wishing to offer support can do so by dropping a coin into the collection tin at our reception desk. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed so far; all donations are hugely appreciated and make a huge difference.
