Unum raises over £20,000 for St Catherine’s
St Catherine’s Hospice is celebrating the end of a successful two year partnership with Dorking based firm, Unum, during which time the company, based in Milton Court, raised an incredible £23,688 for the hospice.
The local hospice was the only charity to secure a second consecutive year as Dorking’s regional charity partner and, last week, were presented with the cheque by Unum’s Chief Executive, Peter O’Donnell, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Susan Sanderson, and members of Unum’s charity committee. St Catherine’s Chief Executive, Giles Tomsett, and Corporate New Business Fundraiser, Laura Kelly, were delighted to receive their cheque on behalf of St Catherine’s and took the time to host a tour of the hospice so they could see the difference the funds raised were making.
The difference Unum will make
Unum’s incredible fundraising will make a huge difference to people living with a terminal illness in the Dorking area and beyond. Their donation is enough to fund an entire day of all St Catherine’s care services across their Crawley Inpatient Unit, Day Hospices, which help people live well through a range of wellbeing activities such as: exercise groups, art and music therapy and through care in the wider community. Additionally, their donation would fund a further day of community care, allowing patients in Dorking and wider Surrey to benefit from St Catherine’s expert end of life support in the comfort and familiar surroundings of their own homes, often the place they feel most comfortable.
How Unum raised the money
Unum raised the impressive sum by participating in St Catherine’s annual Dragon Boat festival in Tilgate Park in September, which the company also sponsored for the last two years, and by taking part in other St Catherine’s fundraising challenges, including a Superhero themed abseil. The team also hosted their own fundraising activities, organising everything from raffles to quizzes and pumpkin carving, cinema nights to craft fairs and taking on a 5k run in their company grounds. Unum also arranged numerous blue bag collections for St Catherine’s 16 charity shops across Sussex and Surrey and staff spent time volunteering at the hospice and at fundraising events.
St Catherine’s is proud to have built a strong relationship with Unum and are looking forward to continuing to work with the company in future on exciting, new initiatives. Laura Kelly, Corporate New Business Fundraiser, said: “We’d like to thank Unum for their fantastic and varied support of St Catherine’s, and for their incredible donation which will make a real difference to our patients and their families.”
If you, or a company you know, would like to find out more about how you can help St Catherine’s, please email Laura Kelly, Corporate New Business Fundraiser, on laurakelly@stch.org.uk or call 01293 447365.
