Charity round-up

SITA UK raises nearly £90,000 for cancer charity

Staff at the waste management firm have been participating in bake sales, individual sporting challenges and male waxing to raise cash for the charity.

The year culminated in The Big Ride – a six-week cycle relay from SITA UK’s most northern site near Aberdeen to its most southern facility near Land’s End between May and June 2014.

The route, which included as many of the company’s waste and recycling plants as possible, made the journey almost three times as long as the traditional Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge.

letsrecycle.com also joined in as features editor Amy North strapped on her helmet for a 19-mile stretch of the cycle in London (see letsrecycle.com story).

Earlier this week, chief executive officer of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones, presented Macmillan representatives, Michelle Martin and Jan Harris, with a cheque for £89,984 – half of which was raised by The Big Ride.

Mr Palmer-Jones said: “I am absolutely delighted that our fantastic employees have managed to raise so much money for Macmillan over the last year, and I am very proud to be able to present Macmillan with a cheque for nearly double the amount we initially set out to raise.

“As a business with 5,500 employees spread across the country, we wanted to hold an event to bring our company closer together and The Big Ride certainly did just that.”

Macmillan regional fundraising manager, Jan Harris added: “The staggering amount SITA UK raised will not only fund a nurse for a year but also a Macmillan Cancer support officer too. SITA UK has helped us make a huge difference to the lives of those affected by cancer.”

Viridor makes donation to Sue Ryder appeal

Viridor has donated £1,000 to the Sue Ryder appeal to help build a new hospice at Thorpe Hall in Peterborough.

The donation has been made to mark the amount of time dedicated to constructing its new 85,000 tonnes-per-year energy recovery facility in the city – which stands at 100,000 man hours without time lost to accident or injury.

Viridor began construction of the £76 million Peterborough EfW in July 2013 with partners B&W Volund, Interserve and Fichtner. Operations at the plant are due to begin in late 2015.

Commenting on the donation, Viridor’s Paul Rowland, said: “A project of this size involves many people from different trades all working in the same space at the same time.

“We know we’re stronger in partnership, so everyone looks out for each other all the time to make sure health and safety is always the priority. I’m really proud of this achievement and that we can contribute to the wonderful care the Sue Ryder Foundation provides.”

Nilesh Patel, hospice fundraiser at Sue Ryder, Thorpe Hall Hospice, expressed his thanks for the contribution.

He said: “We are very grateful for this contribution from Viridor and its partners. The money will go towards our £6million appeal to fund the building of a new hospice to serve the region. Building work will be starting in September so cash injections like this are very much needed, and welcomed.”

Fairport Containers marks anniversary with charity donations

Fairport Containers is celebrating having reached its fundraising target of £20,000 for charitable causes.

The waste container specialist, which raised £23,461 over 12 months, had set the target to mark 20 years since the business was founded 1993.

The firm launched its charity events in April last year, with four employees cycling all 12 miles of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. The team raised over £10,000 to share between Derian House Children’s Hospice, St Catherine’s Hospice and Cancer Research UK.

And, in October, guests at the firm’s gala dinner and grand auction raised a further £3,500 for Cancer Research UK.

Finally, Fairport welder Lee Swales and his friend Max Halsall drew sponsorship of almost £10,000 by running the London Marathon for the first time – which took them just over four hours to complete.

Founder of Fairport Containers and chairman, Andrew Porter, said he hoped that Fairport Containers’ fundraising efforts would leave a lasting legacy.

He said: “We are immensely proud of our business achievements over the past two decades and this fundraising success seems a very fitting way to celebrate.

“We hope that our charity fundraising will benefit people now and into the future and we would like to thank our staff, customers, suppliers, families and everyone else who has donated.”