EACH has launched its My £10 campaign with the help of staff at Suffolk Life, part of Curtis Banks Group. The team kick started the fundraising by going without things they would normally spend money on to raise valuable funds for the appeal which aims to transform children’s palliative care in Norfolk.
All employees at the self-invested personal pension specialist were asked to think about what they could give up for one week that amounted to £10. The list of things sacrificed included a subscription to The Times, music downloads, Subway lunches, coffee, hot chocolate, alcohol, smoking and even clothes.
In total they raised an impressive £330 in aid of EACH’s nook appeal. Vicky Matthews, EACH Corporate Fundraiser said: “It is fantastic that Suffolk Life is leading the way with My £10 campaign. They have seen first-hand the amazing facilities we have for families at The Treehouse and want the same for those we care for in Norfolk - it would be fantastic if more businesses in Suffolk and Essex could do the same.”
Greg Kingston, Communications Director at Suffolk Life, part of Curtis Banks Group, commented: “Supporting EACH’s nook appeal in 2018 made perfect sense for us. All our staff really got behind the Treehouse appeal in 2011, both fundraising and also activities at the site. Many of our staff were able to see the build progress over time on their journeys to and from work, and it was a great feeling knowing that we’d all made a contribution towards it. We want to capture that same feeling in 2018 for the nook appeal”.
The charity is now appealing for people across the region to join the My £10 campaign and think what they could give up to raise money to help local families with children with life-threatening conditions.
Tal Williams, EACH Community Fundraiser – nook appeal, explained: “My £10 is really simple – we’re asking people to give up something that they would spend £10 or more on in the month of April and donate the money they save to the nook appeal. A week without your shop bought coffee or gin and tonic may seem like a stretch but if every person in Norfolk took part we’d have enough money to complete the work on our purpose built hospice in Framingham Earl – which will support hundreds of Norfolk families into the future.
“I think people will be surprised how quickly the luxuries we all buy everyday add up – and how easy it is to go without them! So please, have a go – think what you could give up to help invest in the care of families at a time when they need in most.”
EACH is asking people to share what they are giving up on their social media using the #my10pounds and use the Facebook frame on their profile picture.
The idea for the campaign came from Judith Sykes, chair of the nook friends group: “I was looking for new ideas for fundraising when I came upon statistics for the number of adults living in Norfolk and realised if every adult donated £10 we would raise £7,226,000! For my £10 I went into Marks & Spencer and carefully chose a delicious meal, plus a bottle of wine, all for £10. That night my husband and I sat down to a meal of beans on toast accompanied by tap water - I had put the £10 meal back and donated the £10 to the appeal.”
Tal added: “We really want to hear what people are giving up so please put it on your social media using our #my10pounds so we can see. You can also challenge your friends to give something up too. £10 isn’t a huge amount of money to one person but it all adds up and your donation really can make a difference.”
EACH launched its £10 million nook appeal in November 2014. The total raised so far stands at £7.8 million and building work on the new hospice in Framingham Earl is underway.
To find out more about My £10, ideas for what you can give up and how you can get involved visit www.each.org.uk/my10pounds.
You can donate to My £10 at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/my10pounds.
Image:Mark King and Donna Marley from Suffolk Life taking part in My £10