The Year of Heroes!

It’s only right and proper that our Chairman kicks off the HR GO Diamond Jubilee celebrations with the first of our 60 Acts of Kindness (a little early for 2017 but he was determined to be first). Jack Parkinson took part in the Ashford Rotary club annual Christmas supermarket collection, raising a grand total of £533.66 by rattling his bucket at Tesco shoppers.

Given the recent reports in the news and just from my own observations in and around Canterbury, I’m pleased to say that the HR GO and Exectec Canterbury team were able to put together a donation of things that most of us take for granted. Porchlight do an amazing job of supporting vulnerable and homeless people in Kent, helping them to re-build their life. We hope that our donation will help and this post will spur you on to do something nice for someone, no matter the size of the gesture, it’s a start!

HR GO Recruitment in Norwich donated twenty-five bears to ill children at the pantomime 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. The children from the charity REACH adopted our teddy bears and got to meet David Burilin as Jack Trottalott! Well done HR GO Norwich!

We are sponsoring Bailey from the Oldies Club and Hattie who is a puppy training to be a guide dog. We have contributed £120.00 of our own money to both dogs. Bailey, a 12 year old Bichon Frise Cross who arrived in Oldies Club care in 2014 had moved foster home several times. He was placed in the oldies club sponsor dog scheme. Thankfully a loving and appropriate foster home was found and Bailey will remain there, with Oldies Club to cover all of his vet bills for the rest of his life. One day, Hattie will change someone’s life and we will have helped that to happen, she will be trained over the next 22 months and will become a very loved guide dog for the blind.

'We held a bake sale to raise money for 2 year old Mason. Sadly, Mason caught Meningococcal Septicaemia, a strain of the meningitis virus, and on Christmas Eve he had 3 limbs amputated as a result. We raised a total of £440.00 in order to help Mason and his family pay for his long road ahead.' Well done to the National Sales Team!

We attended a 1970's fancy dress charity event to help raise money for Harlow haematology unit. The event raised just over £2500: HR GO contributed £350 towards the total. Well done Christopher, Cindy and Richard!

I took part in Sugar Free February for Cancer Research, giving up all sugary treats and white bread, pasta, rice and potatoes for 28 days. Thanks to everyone who sponsored me - I raised £206.25. Making up for lost time now!

We took part in the Avalanche Run 'Chase the Yeti' 5k extreme mud run. We raised £100 in total for a local charity called The Lowdown. The Lowdown supports young people by offering a free and confidential drop in service. Well done Debby and Zen!

We held a pay-to-participate dress up for Red Nose Day and a bake sale to raise money for Comic Relief. Some were dressed in red and others dressed in their onesies! Cakes were available too for a donation. Thanks to everyone who took part at Wellington House and RHL - we raised a total of £104.00.

The team at HR GO Recruitment Somerset held a raffle where people could win a fab assortment of prizes, many of which were donated by local businesses. All the money raised was given to St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice - a local charity dedicated to making each day count for patients and families facing a life-limiting illness.

Sweet things never made anyone bitter, especially with children! HR GO Chatham has spent the weeks leading up to Easter collecting chocolate eggs to donate to the children at the Medway Maritime Hospital. They successfully gathered a total of 54 eggs and other goodies (client donations and their own contribution). Our colleagues at Chatham brought the goodies to the children on the Dolphin and Penguin Wards and felt humbled at the response.

HR GO Recruitment in Dudley eggs-acted a bumper crop of Easter Eggs from local companies and delivered them to the Mary Stevens Hospice for their Easter Coffee Morning. Pictured are: Laura Millard, Elllie Thomas and Sarah Bridges from HR GO Recruitment, and Simon Henwood, MD of Mary Stevens. A massive thank you must go to Ashley Manor Upholstery who donated a bumper crop of eggs. Thanks also to Sandwell Accountancy Services, Accessible Hire & Refrigeration and Armorduct Systems who helped us complete our mission.

What a better way to help others than by eating cakes? That's what RHL decided to do for its 60 Acts of Kindness. Their baking contest - in which the bunny cake was the winner -raised a total of £88.50. The money was donated to the charity Find a Voice - a Kent local charity that helps people with speech, language and communications difficulties.

A bit of adrenaline? Richard Tilbrook decided to jump off a plane to raise money for Mental Health Foundation. Without much screaming he was able to hit £1,000!

The team at HR GO Canterbury donated Easter eggs to local children's charity Windchimes, a respite centre for children with additional needs. A big thank you to all clients and colleagues who donated, I'm sure you put a big smile on some young faces.

Karen Walker from Head Office in Ashford gave up her Sunday morning to join Ashford Rotary club marshalling at Paws around the Park sponsored dog walk. The event was held in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Edward Purnell, Alan Steer and Matt Waters from RHL took part in the Kent Big Bike Ride in April. Alan flew off into the distance after about 2/3 of the course and finished in about 5 hours. Edward and Matt were about 20 minutes behind with a race for the finish line. It was a great day and the team raised £250 through family and friends. The money will be donated to Pilgrims Hospice - a charity that provides specialist end of life care for the people of east Kent.

The team at RHL completed their second bike ride on 18th June. Alan Steer and Edward Purnell took part in the 85km London to Brighton bike ride and raised a total of £280. All money will be donated to the Pilgrims Hospice.

On Saturday 24th June, Sharon Wilding, from the Marketing team, and her husband Jim, volunteered to help out as car park marshalls at the Kent MS Therapy Centre summer fayre. The event was well attended so they were kept very busy!

In March I succeeded in walking 10,000 steps EVERY DAY to raise money for Cancer Research. This is me (with the glasses on) taking part in Red Nose Day the same month.

On 13th March I took part in the Silverstone half marathon to raise money for Marie Curie. Unfortunately the weather was not as beautiful as this picture suggests and I got soaked to the bones! Nevertheless I battled through to the finish line!

The Business Development team got together with the Stockport branch and Healthcare team to collect Easter eggs from clients. Our haul was then donated to the Francis House Hospice for children with life limiting illnesses.

One of the drivers at HR GO Driving Didcot went up to Grenfell Towers, with XPO and The Entertainer, and worked tirelessly throughout the day helping with the volunteer effort. It was spearheaded by Gary who owns The Entertainer however XPO have kindly agreed to cover the costs of the drivers and vehicles for the day while Gary supplied the goods. Photo of our driver Ion Costin receiving his certificate in recognition of his services from XPO.

The team at HR GO Recruitment in Bishop's Stortford did the 15-mile Flitch Walk between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree on Saturday 1st July. They made each step count by raising money for the life saving ambulance Essex & Herts Air Ambulance - a local charity which relies on people's generosity to remain operational. Well done team for all the donations you managed to get for this great cause!

HR GO in Upminster walked the 15 miles Flitch Walk between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree to support the local charity Thrive. Putting their best foot forward encouraged some of their clients to donate to the cause of Thrive - a local charity that uses gardening to bring about positive change for people living with disabilities or ill health. All the sweat, and blisters didn't stop the team from celebrating which was a great success!

RHL's Life Sciences Team Bryoni Charles, Alex Butcher, Rachel Oliver & Laura Bruce decided to do a 3.5km run for charity. The run took place at the famous Run or Dye event in Penshurst Place on 2nd July 2017 and was in aid of Great Ormond Street Charity. Not only did the Life Sciences team run for this charity, but their children also ran with them. Their children are 3yrs, 4yrs, 8yrs & 10 yrs.

My reason for jumping? There are no limits to what Magpas can achieve and there is no person that they could not help. There was a particular incident which prompted myself and friend, Sarah Crosbie, to go for this jump on the 8th July. In August last year her husband was seriously injured in a freak accident when he was crushed between a glass hearse and the side of a horse box. Magpas attended the scene and flew Ben to Addenbrookes. Ben's injuries were life changing and most certainly life threatening. Without the care of Magpas it does not bare thinking about where Ben would be today.

Jack Parkinson, Roddy Barrow, Fiona McKay and Denise Spurgeon from Head Office and the team at HR GO Recruitment in Ashford volunteered to help at the Kent Challenger Games on 14th July. This event was held at the Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford and aims to motivate and engage young people to participate in sports and games.

In memory of a teacher who passed away last year, St.Martins school in Dover held a Race for Life event on 20th of July. The HR GO team in Folkestone was asked to collaborate and assist with the setting up of the event - they, of course, agreed to be of help for this great cause! Our colleagues Natalie and Laura had a great time handing out medals to children and even doing some laps themselves. Some teddy bears were also given to some teachers at the school - it seems like not only the children appreciate the teddy's charms!

On 11th of July, HR GO Ramsgate took part in an Employability Day at a local secondary school King Ethelberts. The aim of the day was for Year 10 pupils to speak with local employers about life after education and what is on offer in the local area. The team at Ramsgate did mock interviews with the pupils to give them an insight into what to expect. They also give them feedback and advice at the end to help them for the future.