Charity begins at work

We've recently produced a great 24-page magazine that showcases all the work one of our clients has been doing to raise money for its corporate charity. The organisation, which is made up of 13 different companies, has 28,000 global colleagues who have all been united through a common goal of raising much-needed funds for their chosen charity.

We have been working with the company since the launch of the campaign in 2010 and provided regular communication to their employees around the world to update them on their progress. They are already ahead of target on the fundraising side of things – but the campaign has also had business benefits too.

As a relatively new group of companies the charity has given them a common purpose – one that transcends day-to-day business issues. Group-wide challenges have given colleagues in separate companies a reason to work together and any perceived barriers have been broken down to make way for a much greater cause.

I interviewed one of the company's active fundraisers last week who told me that supporting the charity had created a fantastic network of contacts across the group. The relationships that have been formed and the creativity that has been encouraged through events, regular communications and initiatives have not only helped the charity but also the business.

The feel-good factor that charity work can bring should not be ignored in the workplace. While helping those less fortunate should be a priority for us all – the additional business benefits are evident too.

John gets his skates on

As we have spent so much time interviewing colleagues, writing about the campaign and designing the publications, we felt compelled to get involved too. That's why Elliott House's John Liddle will be skating a marathon for UNICEF soon – that's 432 laps of the ice rink with no stops!

As an ice hockey player, his abilities on the ice are better than most but it could take well over two hours for him to complete the marathon so stamina and determination will be needed.

Coventry's Planet Ice have kindly offered John free ice time to practice. 

You can find out more and donate on John's fundraising page and we will post regular updates on his progress.