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 Mackay 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.

HR GO have come together with the Rotary Club of Ashford to offer support to FareShare. FareShare redistributes food to charities and community organisations working with disadvantaged people in the area. We are supporting FareShare once a month by delivering food to several charities across Ashford. Matthew White from the Marketing Team was the first to volunteer last month.

HR GO Norwich took part in 'Football shirt Friday' to raise money for the Bradley Lowery Foundation. Bradley Lowery sadly passed away from Neuroblastoma and on the day of his funeral his family requested that everyone wear football shirts whether they were able to attend or not. A total of £340.00 was raised for the Bradley Lowery Foundation for children with cancer.

The team from the HR GO Driving branch in Chelmsford took part in the Race for Life on 23rd July. Michele, Zoe and their friends and family completed the race and raised a total of £258.75 for Cancer Research. Well done!

The Healthcare team at HR GO in Stockport volunteered to help one of their clients with their garden party at Beechwood House Residential Home. Money was raised for the resident's social fund. Nicki Knight, Simone Jones and Bradley Cook assisted with the setting up, clearing up, making brews and anything else that was required of them. The team baked some cakes and donated items for the raffle and tombola. They also managed the bric-a-brac stall and set up the garden games. The Home Manager Helena Brown was very happy with all their efforts and how the whole team appreciated their help and support. Well done!

Jane Mallan from the HR GO Driving branch in Peterborough jumped out of a plane in aid of GSDR, a charity very close to her heart. GSDR is a dog charity that rescues and rehomes German Shepherd puppies and dogs in sometimes very difficult and upsetting circumstances. A total of £772.50 has been raised so far for the amazing work this charity does. Three drivers showed Jane their support by jumping out of the plane too!

The team at the HR GO Huntingdon branch held a Macmillan Coffee Morning in their office. A total of £220.00 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support. Well done to you all - the cakes look amazing too!

Ben Major and Robyn Aichinger from HR GO Driving jumped out of a plane at 15,000 ft to raise money for Little Miracles. Little Miracles is a charity that supports families that have children with additional needs. A total of £1880.78 has been raised so far. Well done Ben & Robyn! Robyn is absolutely petrified of both heights and flying and was determined to reach her target for a charity that's very close to her heart. This charity helps support her son who has various additional needs from birth. Well done to you both.

HR GO Recruitment in Folkestone took part in the Bubble Rush at Betteshanger Park on Saturday 26th of August. Don't be fooled into thinking this was just about fun and getting a bit of refreshment from the bubbles! They obviously had a good time running through the foam with their children but the real aim of the event was to raise money for Demelza House. And they did very well by collecting a total of £300! Well done all of you!

The team at HR GO Nottingham organised a pool tournament to raise money for a local charity drawn on the day. They managed to form 16 teams and spent nearly 6 hours playing and doing raffles. A total of £200 was raised and given to the charity chosen by the players; Macmillan Cancer Support - well done Nottingham!

Our colleague Vicki Rice from the Canterbury branch completed the Canterbury Half Marathon on 28th of August . Running on a Bank Holiday Monday definitely deserved a special prize in itself! The aim though was to raise money for Pilgrims Hospice and she managed to collect £115.00. Well done Vicki for completing what she named 'the hilliest Half Marathon ever'!!

The team at HR GO Norwich leaded by Lorraine Royal organised a football match to raise money for Bradley Lowery Cancer Charity. The teams; HR GO and Bertram's Books managed to collect a total of £800 for this charity. Do you want to know more about the story of Bradley? Click the link below.

Luke Frake from Space Between took part in the Tough Mudder in memory of his Grandad who passed away earlier this year of vascular dementia. Luke says, "So at the weekend, I completed my first Tough Mudder. The Tough Mudder is an endurance course of 5.5 miles with 14 obstacles, as many of you will know I recently became a father and so haven't had much time to train, but I did it! All money will be donated to the Alzheimer's Society".

Cindy Hare and Nick Perry committed to walk 15 miles to raise money for the charity Lynsey Ivison Trust. They joined the Upminster and the Bishop's teams to do the 15 mile Flitch Walk between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree. They managed to avoid the blisters next day and raised a total of £100 for Lynsey Ivison Trust.

Nick Perry and his wife gave up half a day of their holiday to visit a school in St Kitts. They spent their time there helping the teachers assist the children. They also donated some goods they had with them; books, pens and sweets.

Eclipse Poland staff decided to use its potential to run series of various events such as; a book sale, oil painting auction, open workshops, chess duels or street theater shows to raise funds for little Kalina's Heart Surgery. 60 Acts of Kindness was a great opportunity for everyone to get involved and they managed to raise 4188,15 PLN in total which is about £900.

Roddy Barrow volunteered to deliver food to charities across Ashford to support FareShare. FareShare redistributes food to charities working with disadvantaged people. Roddy says, "During the morning with the HR GO van we made two collections from Tescos and then made deliveries to three other centres. A good experience for a very worthwhile cause".

We held a 'bake off' week for World's Biggest Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Lots of cakes and goodies were available for the whole week. A total of £120.00 was raised for Macmillan.

Our colleagues from Eclipse raised money to fight cancer by training for the Velo Birmingham 100 mile cycle ride. Tim Stainthorpe (Director), Tony Godson (Systems Architect), Matt Randall (Head of Delivery) and Dave Dutson (DevOps Analyst), set a fundraising target of £2,017 from their training effort. They exceeded their target by raising £2,400, with more to come.

Our colleague Richard Meads raised £238 for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the summer – he was supposed sky dive with the Peterborough driving team, but unfortunately he was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease very shortly before it and was advised on medical grounds not to do it. The money he raised however was still donated.

In support of the Ashford Gateway Poppy Project, who are creating a wall of poppies for the 2017. Remembrance Day Commemorations, Credit Control and Payroll have knitted and crocheted 120 poppies. 60 of these hand made poppies will be donated directly to the project. The remaining 60 are available to HR GO Staff for donations to the British Legion.

We held a Diamond Jubilee ball to celebrate the 60th anniversary of HR GO in September. During the events we played heads or tails - this got everyone involved! The evening raffle was also a success and a total of £422 was raised for the RNLI.

John Simpson from HR GO Recruitment in Doncaster took part in the Paras'10 Challenge. This challenge is a 10 mile endurance race that took place on 3rd September. John completed the challenge with one of his clients Steve Graystock (Contracts Manager Walter West Builders Ltd), his friend Paul Curley and his Jack Russell named Poppy. The course had to be completed in under 3 hours with a 35 pound pack on your shoulders. The team completed it in 2 hours and 29 minutes! Well done! A total of £1500.00 was raised for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield.

National Sales conducted a bake sale on Friday and raised £192.00 for Operation Christmas Child. This has created 22 boxes full of education kits, toiletries, sweets and toys that will be donated this Christmas to children in need across the world. Well done to the National Sales team.

Nicki Knight from HR GO Recruitment Healthcare in Stockport took part in Humphrey's Lantern Walk with her daughter. A total of £346.10 was raised to support Manchester Children's Hospital. Well done Nicki!

Matt White and I planned to reprise a previous bike ride this summer but, unfortunately, I had a serious accident and we had to pull out. Nevertheless we managed to raise a bit for our chosen cause!

At the end of October five HR GO team members (some of them not so fit) set off on an epic challenge to cycle 121 miles coast to coast from Silloth to South Shields. Happily they all made it to the end in one piece! The riders were: Roddy Barrow, Matt White, Steve Liddle, John Parkinson and Victoria Rice.

At the end of October I volunteered 2 days of my time to interview for a new CEO for the Kent MS Therapy Centre, where I am a Trustee.

On 3rd November, to brighten our days after the clocks going back, the HR GO teams held a LOUD shirt day. Everyone was encouraged to wear the LOUDEST shirt they could find - and pay for the privilege to raise money for Cancer Research. The prize for the best turned-out team went to HR GO Recruitment in Norwich.

The Rotary Club of Ashford organised a collection for Children in Need on 17th November. They raised a fabulous £952 - which HR GO Chairman Jack Parkinson made up to a round £1,000 with a personal donation of £48. Fittingly our 1st Act of Kindness and the 60th involved Jack and Ashford Rotary.

The team at HR GO Recruitment in Ramsgate took part in Operation Christmas Child with the support from their clients. Both Hornby Hobbies and Denne Joinery came together with HR GO to spread some joy this Christmas and put together 6 Christmas boxes to be donated to children in need. A contribution of £5 per box was made.

The team at Eclipse held a raffle to raise money for Cyclists Fighting Cancer charity. A total of £250 was raised by selling to tickets with the chance to win an iWatch. The happy winner was Michal Pockwala! Well done to all.

"My dad committed suicide 7 years ago in November so raising awareness of mental health and suicide was particularly close to my heart. Too many men are ‘toughing it out’, keeping their feelings to themselves and struggling in silence. The Movember Foundation is aiming to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25% by 2030, and I want to help them get there". Chris Door.

Some of our colleagues at Head Office committed to become The Biggest Loser just before Christmas (how convenient!). Only one of them lost a reasonable amount of weight - congratulations to Roddy Barrow, our Group Managing Director, for losing 11% of his body weight during the challenge!

Our PR & Media Consultant Trevor Sturgess managed to raise £275 (and also got a mustache!) for his Movember campaign. Well done Trevor!

HR GO Ashford donated £170 to the Ashford and Tenterden Umbrella Community who support people in the area who are suffering mental health problems by offering a safe space to enjoy activities and companionship. Our colleagues spent around 4 hours auctioning soft toys which were donated by a client, Keel Toys.

HR GO Recruitment in Chatham took part in the Salvation Army Christmas Present appeal and delivered toys for children. The site in Chatham was able to donate toys to over 400 children across 160 families who are less fortunate than ourselves. The team at Chatham said it wast a humbling experience to know that they have brought joy to some families this Christmas time.

We wanted to start off on the right foot this Christmas so we all wore our jolly jumpers to the company meal. Everyone donated £1 and we managed to raise an extra £55!