02/10/2008 by admin.

Children’s Book Week runs from the 6th-12th October and businesses are being urged to support local schools by donating a book in the Community Book Pledge.

Posted in Fundraising, Events, News | No Comments »

21/09/2008 by admin.

Terry Evans, owner of Terry’s Autos in Chirk, and Glyn Valley Tramway Trustee, and Ben Williams, Chirk solicitor and Glyn Valley Tramway Trust legal advisor, have embarked on an epic trek across Europe – and they’ll be covering the 1,500 miles in a ‘banger’ which cost just £90.

Terry, who also represents Chirk South on Wrexham Council, and solicitor Ben, are taking part in the Staples2Naples banger rally to raise money to buy a new minibus for local nursing home, Chirk Court.

Terry and Ben set off from the home on Thursday in a 15-year-old Suzuki Swift which cost just £90. Initially they headed up to Calais, before travelling through Switzerland and Italy, and will (hopefully!) arrive in Naples on September 22.

If anyone would like to sponsor Terry and Ben or make a donation to the Chirk Court Minibus Appeal they should contact the home on 01691 774286.

Posted in Fundraising, News | No Comments »

19/09/2008 by admin.

Donations to the Community Book Pledge can now be made online. See www.communitybookpledge.co.uk.

Posted in Fundraising, News | No Comments »

06/09/2008 by admin.

This year is the National Year of Reading – a very important year for everyone involved in improving literacy standards.

As part of this nationwide initiative Usborne Wrexham is working with local schools and businesses to give schools the chance to increase school reading resources through a partnership between local businesses and other community organisations and Usborne Books at Home, a division of Usborne Publishing, a highly respected children’s publisher.

Local businesses are invited to make a small donation to buy a book or books for a local school to increase their library stock.

Local Independent Usborne Schools Representative Jane Redfern Jones is aiming to collect £1000 in donation for each school that participates in the scheme, and Usborne will then generously provide an additional £600 worth of free books on top of this.

All businesses supporting the initiative will receive acknowledgement in the next available schools newsletter to parents and can also request a donors poster to proudly display at their work place. Businesses will also receive publicity through the Wrexham Media network of websites, including the Wrexham Business Blog and Wrexham Today, with over 2,000 unique visitors daily. Participating businesses will also be invited to a photo call at the school when the books are presented, and this will be sent to the local press. There is no minimum donation, books start at just £1.50, and each book donated will contain a bookplate with the name of the business that donated it (these are often taken home so are seen by parents). Businesses donating over £45 will also receive a free webpage for a year in the Wrexham Business Directory.

Visit www.communitybookpledge.co.uk for more information.

Businesses that take part in this scheme will help raise the literacy standards of our community’s next business generation. For more information contact jane@usbornewrexham.co.uk or call 01978 313650 or 0785 4437185.

Posted in Fundraising, News | 1 Comment »

06/09/2008 by admin.

A group of staff from Specsavers in Wrexham originally hoped to raise a total of £800 for Cancer Research UK when they took part in a fun run, but instead they brought in £1,702. The team spent months raising a total of £851 in sponsorship funds between them for the 5k run at Alyn Waters Country Park. Store directors Ian Thomas and John Kamaluddin then agreed to match the total they raised in sponsorship, creating a massive overall sum of over £1,700.

Posted in Fundraising, News | No Comments »

18/05/2008 by admin.

Go Yellow is the National Hospice Awareness campaign promoted throughout the UK to raise vital funds for local Hospices who are in need of financial support.

Nightingale House Hospice provides specialist palliative care services, completely free of charge, to people across Wrexham, Flintshire, East Denbighshire, the A494 corridor to Barmouth, and the borders, including Oswestry, Ellesmere, Wem and Whitchurch.

The Hospice is an independent provider, principally supported by the public, organisations, trusts and companies, with just 18% of their annual revenue coming from Government sources.

This year they need to raise £2.5 million pounds to stay active for their patients and their families in need of care and support, £2.1 million of which they will have to find through various fundraising initiatives and through the kind endeavour of our local community.

You can see therefore why they need YOUR BUSINESS to GO YELLOW with them this June.

Anyone can get involved - nursery schools, schools, churches, clubs, companies. There are lots of ways you can support the Go Yellow initiative – why not get staff to wear something yellow to work; have a yellow tea party; a quiz where the answers are connected with yellow items; or even a Banana Sundae Bash!

For more information call Nightingale House on 01978 316800 or visit their website at www.nightingalehouse.co.uk.

Posted in Fundraising, Events | No Comments »

16/04/2008 by admin.

On Tuesday 15th April Ego-X held a Charity Day collecting money for Hope House and Alziemers. Donations went straight to charity.
Read more…

Posted in Fundraising | No Comments »

21/10/2007 by admin.

Giving to charity either with money or time can benefit your business in a number of ways. Several research studies have shown that businesses which show social responsibility have improved financial performance, an enhanced brand image, increased sales and customer loyalty, and an increased ability to attract and retain employees.

Many businesses restrict support to local beneficiaries by sponsoring an event or helping a charity either financially or through the supply of labour or staff expertise. Working with your immediate community in this way brings a wide range of business benefits:

*Loyal customers are often an important source of sales,

*Improving your reputation may make recruitment easier.

*A good relationship with local authorities can help eg councils prefer to award contracts to businesses with a record of community involvement.

Many businesses seek to align community involvement with their strategic business goals by getting involved in an activity related to their product. This makes commercial sense in that you can share your expertise as well as show the human face of your business. For example builders give free labour and materials to community projects, banks help to finance a project, or local shops may offer raffle prizes related to their business

Whatever road you take it is worth involving your employees - encourage them to volunteer for community activities - perhaps by giving them paid time off to do it. As well as improving your community relations, this can help motivate employees and develop their skills.

Remember that getting involved with charity is not the time to be shy. Your community involvement efforts should not be your best kept secret. Sharing your efforts will not only create positive publicity for your business, it will also help educate and remind others about the charity or cause you support, as well as inspire people to get involved.

Communicate your charitable efforts to your local media, customers and employees. Also make use of your website or company newsletter to get word out. A good photo connecting your business with the charity will help get your picture published.

Giving needn’t be taxing either. Setting up a payroll giving scheme is a simple, easy and tax-efficient way to encourage your employees to donate to charity. For more information on payroll giving schemes click here.

Perhaps your company could organise a one-off fundraising event such as a dress down day or put forward a team to take part in a local challenge. Could you organise a fundraising event at your Christmas party or sponsor the boss to do something amusing? It’s all for a good cause! You may want to match any funds employees raise, so consider offering match funding schemes.

A study by Walker Research found that when price and quality are equal 76% of consumers would switch brands or retailers when a company is associated with a good cause. So helping a charity can work both ways - good for the charity and good for business.

An example of a local organisation seeking support is the Glyn Valley Tramway Trust. The Trust is aiming to rebuild the steam railway that ran through the Ceiriog Valley and they are looking for support from local businesses. For more information visit the GVT blog at www.tramwayblog.co.uk.

Posted in Fundraising, Articles | No Comments »

21/10/2007 by admin.

Wrexham butcher Jeremy Williams has come up with a novel fundraising idea which has got local dogs wagging their tails.
Read more…

Posted in Fundraising | No Comments »