Q3 Charity Donations
28/11/22
As part of our charitable giving scheme, each team across AWP is allocated a pot of money with which they can choose to support one or more charities of their choice. Each team is allocated a quarter within the year during which they get to decide how to distribute the donation, with one extra team in charge of the Christmas period. So far this year we have supported the Force Cancer Cream Tea initiative (which was very welcome in the office!), Exeter Leukaemia Fund, Marie Curie and Devon Partnership NHS Trust.
It's never easy deciding how to split our funds, but after putting our heads together, the Transport team (responsible for the Autumn quarter) settled on a three-way split, with all three charities close to our hearts.There is also a common theme through our choices, focussing on mental health, which each of these charities benefit in their own right.
Here’s what our team had to say about our chosen charities …
Ride On - Cycling for All
It seemed only fitting for Team Transport to support a local sustainable travel charity, and we love the community and social enterprise which Ride On have built. With Ceri being a cycle fanatic (2,400km in five and a half days for the 2022 Pan Celtic Race!) and Daisy taking part in Ride On’s Wom+n’s Workshops (female-led cycle maintenance workshops for anyone identifying as female or non-binary) after reigniting her Dutch upbringing, both can attest to the positive impact which cycling has on their mental and physical health. With cycling becoming ever more popular, giving everyone fair access to cycling and promoting sustainable travel means a lot to us all in the Transport Team.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)
When Mikey came into the office wearing a new sweater, we were all quick to comment on it. Not because we’re fashion connoisseurs, but because it carried a very important message… “Boys Get Sad Too”. It got us all talking, and Mikey reported that he had already been stopped by a number of people when out and about to talk about the message he was wearing. Whilst mental health affects us all equally, male suicide rates are 25% higher than women in the UK (Samaritans), and we are acutely aware of how disproportionately affected the construction industry is, with whom we work closely as an engineering consultancy. The Boys Get Sad Too campaign directly supports CALM by donating 10% of their profits, and so it made sense for us to support the CALM cause too. Several more jumpers and T-shirts from the same campaign have recently been spotted in the office too!
Cats Protection Honiton
The age-old debate of what makes the best pet is one that is still alive and well at AWP HQ! Regardless of furry friend preference however, it is clear that many people at AWP love animals and are interested in supporting their welfare and rescue. Based on the number of cat memes which periodically appear in the kitchen to remind people to wash up their teaspoons, and with Cat our in-house expert on all things feline (and cat charity volunteer), it was decided that Cats Protection Honiton was a very worthy cause to donate to. The Honiton branch survives with only unpaid volunteers and are always desperately in need of funds for neutering feral cats, as well as providing food, shelter, and veterinary care for all the cats waiting to be adopted. For many people, cats also provide much-needed companionship and a boost to mental health (just watch any cat video online and you are guaranteed to have your day brightened).
We are very grateful as a team for AWP providing us with the opportunity and funds to support these causes which mean a lot to us all. We now hand over the baton to team Dan for Q4’s donations. Watch this space!