Charity support at Cirencester Friendly

Charity of the Year 2019 - Gloucestershire Young Carers

As a Friendly Society we like to give back, therefore we support the local community and charitable organisations that are close to our hearts. Every year we choose a charity which is voted for by our staff members.

This year our Charity of the Year 2019 will be Gloucestershire Young Carers, we look forward to helping raise funds for such a worthy cause.

The chosen charity for 2018 was Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Throughout the year staff took part in fun and challenging fundraising activities. We kicked off our 2018 fundraising for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, with a double whammy event of a Pancake Flipping Competition and a Valentine’s Day themed Bake Sales. Throughout the year various fundraising events took place, such as themed Quiz's and Bake Sales, and the year ended with a jam packed week of Christmas Fundraising.

The total amount raised for Wiltshire Air Ambulance in 2018 was £1581.39, which was then matched by the Society, bring the grand total to £3162.78. Well done to everyone at the Society for their great fundraising efforts.

2017 Charity Events

Dress down for charity

To help boost the amount raised, we introduced dress down day and pay £1 on the last Friday of every month.

CFS Festive fun

Throughout the month of December, we had lots of festive fun with various fund raising activities taking place, including; a Bake Off, Photo Booth, Christmas Jumper Day, Pin the Tail on the Snowman, Decorate the Gingerbread Man, Christmas Breakfast Bar, Present Wrapping, a raffle and everyone’s favourite, Santa’s Grotto.

We all enjoyed ourselves and our efforts were successful as we raised a total of £871. The amount was matched by the Society, taking the total raised to a fantastic £1,742!

The total raised for the year for Cancer Research UK was a brilliant £6,746.50! Wow!

Comic Relief

The Society started its charity activities for 2017 by supporting Comic Relief on Friday 24 March 2017.

Staff were decked out in red attire and tucked into tasty red themed cakes. There was also ‘guess the number of sweeties in the jar’ competition and a raffle. The day raised a brilliant £163.38.

A year of challenges

Here at Cirencester Friendly, we jump at the chance of being active and challenging ourselves. This year many of our staff set themselves some great challenges, which has seen them step outside of their comfort zone while raising money for Cancer Research UK.

Cheltenham Challenge & Cirencester 10K Run

In June, Jessica, Victoria, Catherine and Karen took on a double whammy and successfully completed the Cheltenham Challenge and the Cirencester 10k. With all of those ‘straight after work’ training sessions, we were not surprised the ladies did so well!

Jessica’s first Half Marathon

Jessica pushed herself even further and followed this by taking part in her first Half Marathon in Swindon. Well done Jessica!

Tough Mudder Half

In August, the Cirencester Friendly Team waded their way through mud and obstacles in the Tough Mudder Half Challenge! The team had great fun, even with all the slips and falls!

All the above challenges raised a brilliant £657.50. The Society has kindly matched this, bringing the total to £1,315.

Relay For Life Cirencester

Our Accounts Supervisor, Donna King and her team ‘Kings & Co’ took part in the Relay for Life in Cirencester. They took it in turns to walk around the track for a whopping 24 hours! What a great way to show that together we are stronger than cancer.

They raised an amazing £800, which was matched by the Society, bringing the total to £1,600.

Move for Cancer Research UK

On 22 September 2017, we held our annual charity event of the year. Society staff took on the treadmill with the aim to ‘move’ from our office in Dyer Street to the statue of George Holloway in Stroud and back (26.6 miles). Taking it in turns to run for 20 minutes at a time, the staff went on to beat the target distance and covered a total of 35 miles!

Alongside this we also had lots of other activities taking place, including a bake sale, book sale, and a quiz.

The staff and the very generous people of Cirencester raised a brilliant £880.16!

The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the amount to an amazing £1,760.32.

Fundraising Activities 2016 - Rethink Mental Illness
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8K Devil Mud Run

Marketing Assistant Farhana has led the way by taking part in the 8K Devil Mud Run in Cheltenham. She raised a brilliant £320 and has found a new love for sliding down mud!
The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the final amount to £640.

Bake Sale

Just like anybody else we love our sweet treats here at Cirencester Friendly. Therefore traditionally we have one, two or even three bake sales across the year. Luckily for us we have many budding bakers who always cook up some wonderful treats for our taste buds.
The first bake sale, which took place on 31 March 2016 raised £39.22.

Charity Day

We hold numerous charity days at the Society throughout the year. The first one was held on 31 March 2016, alongside the bake sale. We had various activities on the day including a raffle and book sale. Chris Hough from Rethink, also came to visit and talked to us about some of the great work they do. The total raised was £168.62.
The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the final amount to £337.24.

Pretty Muddy 5k Race

Accounts Administrator Penny successfully completed the 5k Pretty Muddy Race. She dedicated her run to all those who have lived with a mental illness or known someone who has. She raised an excellent £220. Well done Penny!
The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the final amount to £440.

The Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100

Our Chief Executive Paul Hudson is a keen cyclist, so what better way to raise money than doing something he loves. Those extra spinning classes did not go to waste, as Paul successfully completed the 100 mile race and raised a brilliant £919.25.
The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the final amount to £1,838.50.

The Cirencester Friendly to Rethink Cycle Challenge

On 12 August 2016, we held our second charity day of the year, which was a fun filled day for all at the Society. The main activity on the day was 'The Cirencester Friendly to Rethink Cycle Challenge' in which the staff took turns on a bike outside the office, aiming to cycle the distance from our office to Rethink's head office in London, which is further than 80 miles! We beat our target distance and cycled 120 miles! With help from our cycling experts Ride 24/7!

In addition we had other activities taking place inside the Society, including a bake sale, book sale, silent auction and a raffle. The Society and the very generous people of Cirencester raised a brilliant £1,128.97!

The Society matched the amount raised, bringing the final amount to £2,257.94.

Festive charity week

Our final charity event for Rethink, was dedicated to the Christmas festive season. We held a week-long of fun activities including: a Christmas quiz, festive bake off, Christmas jumper competition, decorate your desk competition and a raffle. We finished the week off with our favourite activity by far, Santa’s Grotto. This included our HR and Executive team, including our Chief Executive Paul Hudson as Santa!

The total raised from the week was £490.60. The amount was matched by the Society, taking the total raised to a fantastic £981.20. We had such a fun week taking part in the various activities and we were all very pleased with the amount raised.

The final total raised by the Society for Rethink was a brilliant £6,494.88!  We have really enjoyed getting involved and raising money for such a worthy cause.

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