As ever with the CSR committee, once one event/activity is done, it’s onto the next. And following on from the success of the Spook-tacular and all the fun Halloween themed activities, the CSR Committee sunk their teeth into the Christmas toy drive.
In support of the nationwide children’s charity, Barnardo’s, the CSR Committee renamed the office Christmas tree as the ‘Giving Tree’. It was full of tags specifying genders and ages, reflecting the local demand for Barnardo’s, Peterborough based staff were encouraged to take a tag from the tree and purchase a gift to donate to the cause. All submissions were under the tree by Wednesday 7th December, so they could be wrapped and distributed ahead of Christmas day. With the simple aim to make someone’s Christmas morning that little bit better across our local community.
The campaign has been very well supported, with seventy-three presents under the Christmas tree by the end of the toy-drive. That’s seventy-three more children, across the Peterborough area that will be opening a gift come Christmas morning, all thanks to the generosity of Bennetts employees. Our gesture was well received by Barnardo’s, who have had an unprecedented number of people asking for their help this winter.
Sherrie Bosett, Community Development and Participation Team Manager at Barnardo’s said:
“We support many families who are struggling both emotionally and financially, especially at this current time during the cost-of-living crisis. This generous donation of Christmas gifts from the team at Bennetts is a lovely gesture to help make this festive time special for local children and families and it is greatly appreciated.”
On top of all that, a very valued member of the CSR Committee, Elaine Barter, went above and beyond for the community in her own time. In early November Elaine took part in a ’24 hour of Good Deeds Project’, which saw her and a team of others deliver a whole day’s worth of Good Deeds! Between London and Peterborough, they gave out food and essentials to the homeless and an abundance of shelters caring for them in the capital, delivered supplies and a £250 donation (from Bennetts good causes) to an animal shelter in Peterborough, made a toy drop at the city hospital, gave out flowers to strangers in random acts of kindness and ending their 24hrs by supporting the homeless in Peterborough. At the forefront of this initiative and pinning it all together is the importance of mental health, spreading love and kindness and reminding us all just how important it is to be kind. Somehow in this 24hrs they also found the time to share their stories with a school and the general public in Peterborough, raising awareness of just how far a good deed can go.
Meanwhile members of the IT team, Harry White and Nick Rudd took part in the Movember challenge! With a £250 donation from Bennetts’ ‘good causes’ budget, taking their final figure to over £300 - massively contributing to Movember’s goal: changing the face of men’s health.
The CSR endeavours of both the committee and individual employees across Bennetts in 2022 have been selfless. From countless activities focused on raising vital funds for Bennetts’ nominated charity, the Light Project Peterborough (LPP)’, to taking part in community wide initiatives like ‘The Big Sleep Out’ and then the push to reignite the whole Bennetts team internally as we adapt to hybrid working. For 2022 Bennetts will be continuing their partnership with the LPP, building on the successes had together this past year. As of 22/12/22, Bennetts have raised £2,608 for the LPP in 2022, with match funding from the organisation taking it to a whopping £5,108, with money still coming in from the Christmas raffle! This is quite a significant achievement and will make a huge difference to the LPP.
A final huge thank you to everyone that has supported these efforts in any way shape or form throughout 2022. May it continue in 2023.
