June 2010
Way back in November of 2009, Nick Dee Shapland, the MD of the company we work for (ServiceMaster Clean of Newbury) announced his intention to get married to Eve, his fiancée. We were informed that the ceremony would be in June 2010.
As the HR Manager, I would usually organise a collection for a colleague’s wedding gift, but on this type of occasion – and bearing in mind Nick’s strong association with CRY – I suggested we undertake a few months of fundraising instead.
The staff wanted to arrange a celebration meal prior to the wedding so that we could take Nick and Eve out, as they would do for us on such an occasion. This gave us the perfect opportunity to present them with what we were hoping to be a very big cheque for their favourite charity, in honour of their wedding.
Without Nick and Eve’s knowledge, staff members donated books, CDs, DVDs, grew plants and baked cakes that we could sell. We sold old vacuum cleaners and mobile phones. One staff member, David Parfitt, got a new bicycle and sold his old one for the fund. Another colleague, Mick Cornwall, ran the London Marathon.
We also ran a Christmas Raffle thanks to a generous donation from ASAP Computers of Pangbourne, who gave us some very expensive whisky and port to use as a prize.
But the biggest event and contribution came from the very brave and daring Keith Parnell, who performed a tandem parachute jump (right) and contributed over 60% of the total amount raised. This was done by writing to our company’s suppliers and other ServiceMasters asking for sponsorship for Keith and he also approached his work colleagues and friends.
The evening of the Wedding Celebration meal arrived, where, with the help of a PowerPoint presentation and a laptop, we revealed to Nick and Eve the whole story of what we had done, how we had done it and finally, how much we had raised.
The total exceeded our hopes and reached £2,058.
Nick and Eve had no idea what had been going on and were delighted and touched by our efforts. That was the icing on the cake for us and a great night was had by all. Good food, a few drinks, great company and a big fat cheque! Perfect!
Shirley Ellis