Brunel charity update
As you may recall, Brunel’s charity for 2018-2019 is Above & Beyond, an organisation that works towards alleviating the stress and boredom of time spent in hospitals.
So far, Brunel’s staff have successfully raised more than £500. This impressive figure is the result of raffles, toy and cake sales, plus sweepstakes celebrating the World Cup and Great British Bake Off.
Above & Beyond’s support focuses on creating welcoming environments; providing state of the art equipment; funding innovative research and supporting staff development.
The money raised by Brunel to date will buy an iPad for the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). This will offer patients from Bristol and beyond with a vital form of communication and entertainment, as well as enhancing the impact of physiotherapy through specialist exercises. You can help by donating here.
Brunel’s staff are engaging in other charitable activities too. Chief Operating Officer Joe Webster is currently growing an impressive moustache for Movember to raise funds to beat some of the most common causes of cancer in young men.
“I’d hoped to look like a fighter pilot but my mum says I look more like a dodgy salesman,” says Joe. “If my face provides some amusement, please make a small donation.”
Just a week into the challenge, this is how Joe looked. “I really enjoyed watching Bohemian Rhapsody recently,” he comments, “…maybe a bit too much…”
Earlier in the year, Investment Officer Sofia Deambrosi and her friend James Wadsworth went beyond the regular three peaks challenge by cycling 450 miles between the mountains on top of the 23 miles of walking up and down Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, all in a period of just three days.
“We started on Sunday 26 August at 6am and completed it on Tuesday 28 at midnight,” says Sofia. “Our motivation was to raise money for Kidney Research UK and City of Bristol Rowing Club, which is entirely volunteer-run and currently hugely oversubscribed.”
The pair had to carry everything they needed on their bikes and manage on just six hours sleep in total during the 66-hour challenge, while enduring soggy weather and sub-zero wind chill at the summits.
Their efforts were well worth it, however, as they’ve already raised more than £1,100 for their chosen causes. You can contribute to their total here.
We really proud of all our employees’ efforts toward forging better futures!