Recently I was excited to hear about the remarkable achievements of the Peterborough-based accountancy firm Rawlinsons in their commitment to complete 75 charitable acts in 75 days.
Rawlinsons has recently embarked upon 75 charitable acts to mark the milestone of its 75th anniversary. This involved employees from across the business joining in and bringing together their fundraising talents to raise money for the chosen charities over the course of 75 days throughout summer 2016.
The charities benefitting from this fundraising extravaganza included NSPCC Peterborough Business Support Group; Shine; Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice; Macmillan Cancer Support and the Peterborough Cathedral 900 Appeal.
Whether it was a 75-mile static bike marathon to a human hound race at the city’s greyhound stadium; a cathedral abseil; 75km walk and taking to the water for the annual dragon boat festival, the employees at Rawlinsons fully embraced the challenge. One member of staff with a particularly sweet tooth even took on the task of giving up biscuits and cakes for the whole 75 days – now that’s true commitment!
So what must have seemed like an impossible challenge, when the staff at Rawlinsons first set off on 1st June to raise their initial target figure of £7,500, was soon accomplished. In fact, the team managed to exceed this target by raising a remarkable total of £8,434.15, to include Gift Aid donations.
As members of PECT’s iiE green business accreditation scheme, Rawlinsons has already achieved its Green Accreditation status, proving its ongoing commitment towards maintaining its environmental credentials. In addition to this, Rawlinsons was awarded overall Outstanding Achiever in the Small Business category at the iiE Green Awards earlier this year.
The 75 Charitable Acts truly goes above and beyond the normal fundraising efforts of many small firms and is a great model for other business to aspire towards. It is a fantastic example for other businesses to be inspired by; in particular those who are looking to improve their corporate social responsibility and give something back to their local community.
Michaela Anthony is the Digital Marketing Apprentice at Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT).