A year-long fundraising drive by staff from North East property and energy firm the Banks Group has raised a massive £14,500 for a regional cancer charity.
Employees at the Durham-headquartered, family-owned firm voted to raise money during 2018 for Bright Red, which supports people across the north of England who are dealing with a wide range of blood cancers, such as leukaemias, lymphomas and myelomas, as well as other less common conditions.
And after totting up all the money raised through the year, a cheque for the full amount has now been presented to the charity’s head of fundraising Lisa Saxton.
Staff from across Banks’ different businesses and locations took part in a range of fundraising activities through the year, including workplace lunches, dress down days, raffles and cake bakes, as well as taking part in a number of different sporting and activity-related challenges.
A 14-strong team completed the national Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon – over a 24 hour period, while ten Banks cyclists took part in the Tour de Yorkshire Sportive, a 50 mile amateur cycle event which followed much of the route as the main Tour de Yorkshire event.
Bright Red works to help create the best possible treatment environments for patients with blood cancers and their families, to assist in the education of healthcare professionals who focus on treating these conditions and to promote world-leading research into the treatment of leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and bone marrow failures.
The charity was originally nominated by David Wilson, a member of the company’s ICT team who was diagnosed with multiple myelomas in 2014 and subsequently successfully treated at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, where Bright Red is headquartered.
Well over £65,000 has now been raised in total over the last six years for the Banks employees’ chosen charities, which have included The Tiny Lives Trust, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research and The Alzheimer’s Society.
Sara Ellis, a member of the Banks Group’s charity fundraising committee, says: “People from every part and level of the business, from the teams on our operational sites right through to the main board, have got involved with fundraising this year, and we’re thrilled to have raised so much for such a deserving cause.
“Bright Red’s work has a positive impact on the lives of thousands of families across our region, and we’re very glad to have played our part in supporting what they do.”
Mark Thompson, chairman of Bright Red and chief executive at Ryder Architecture, adds: “We are delighted to have had the support of the Banks Group this past year. The amount raised for Bright Red has been phenomenal and will go a long way towards our fight against blood cancer’
For more information on Bright Red, please visit www.brightred.org.uk or follow @BrightRedOrg on Twitter.
The Banks Group’s staff charity for 2019 will be announced in due course.