DLRC Charity Wrap Up 2023

2023 has been a great year for DLRC in terms of fundraising and donating to a variety of fantastic charitable organisations. The charity events hosted this year have received great engagement by staff, all whilst raising funds and awareness for some brilliant causes.

2023’s Charity Activities Included:

British Heart Foundation

DLRC began their fundraising activities in February by hosting a British Heart Foundation raffle. A total of £332 was raised. These funds will contribute towards ground-breaking research into cures for those suffering from heart conditions.

Garden House Hospice

In March, DLRC continued their annual contribution towards the Charlie Chicks Campaign, by donating over 14,000 Cadburys Crème Eggs. The entire campaign raised a very impressive £18,000!

DLRC also raised funds for Garden House Hospice (GHH) in August by participating in the Starlight Walk. All staff who entered were sponsored by DLRC, raising over £950 for this fantastic cause.

Garden House Hospice is a charity local to the DLRC offices who provide essential end of life care to patients and support their families. Every donation makes a difference:

• £10.50 will provide tea and coffee to patients, their families, and carers for a day
• £15 will fund a bed on their Inpatient Unit for an hour
• £27 will fund an hour’s care for a patient in the local community
• £53 will provide clean bedding and towels for their patients for a day’

Zaanha Fund

This year, in celebration of International Women’s Day in March, our CEO of DLRC, Dianne Lee, delivered a talk for the Zaanha fund. £250 was donated to this cause. The organisation works to send impoverished children from Afghanistan into schools and begin their education.

Macmillan

DLRC hosted a coffee morning and bake sale in May, which is the biggest fundraising event to support people living with cancer. The event was a huge success and achieved a £514 total raised.

Alcohol Change

In June, DLRC organised an online quiz, with all donations given to Alcohol Change. The total amount raised was £330.  This donation will help the organisation to continue supporting individuals and families affected by alcohol misuse.

Jeans for Genes

2023 saw the return of fundraising for Jeans4Genes, where a total of £145 was raised. Our team at DLRC supported the cause by wearing denim jeans/accessories alongside their J4G T-shirts.

Jeans 4 Genes is an annual campaign that occurs on the first Friday of August. All donations fund projects to help those living with, and affected by, a range of genetic conditions.

Herts Young Homeless

This November, members of our DLC team participated in the Herts Young Homeless Big Quiz. DLRC sponsored our team, and a round at the quiz. In total, £150 was donated, with the event raising £2.000 in total.

Herts Young Homeless is a charity that works closely with these young people to support them as they face homelessness and poverty. The money raised will allow the continuation of support for young and vulnerable people in the local community.

Movember

This year, November became Movember, with 3 participants from our DLRC team growing their moustaches all month to raise money for a fantastic charity. Our bake sale in aid of the cause also helped raise £726.

This money will be invested into six new projects in the UK to reduce the number of male deaths from prostate cancer.

Crisis at Christmas

In December, DLRC took part in a Christmas jumper day to raise money and awareness for Crisis. Alongside this, DLRC collected donations for the homeless and Crisis charity shops all through the month.

Crisis is a charity appeal who support those facing homelessness, and their work is particularly vital around the winter season and Christmas time. DLRC have enjoyed supporting Crisis for another year and look forward to continuing this.

Health Awareness Sessions

DLRC holds monthly Health Awareness sessions to provide information to the team on a variety of topics. As a part of our wellbeing commitments, the contents of these talks vary from mental health to environmental issues to physical health issues.

To each charity throughout the year who have delivered Health Awareness sessions, DLRC has donated £250. In 2023, these organisations included:

• Prostate Cancer UK
• The Sleep Charity
• Bipolar UK
• Letchworth Garden House Hospice
• ADHD Foundation UK
• Guts UK
• Blood Pressure UK
• Endometriosis UK

Individual Charity Contributions

DLRC offers an opportunity to all employees where we will match an individual’s raised funds for a chosen charity, up to £250. This year, some of our team have utilised this scheme:

• Fiona Bright has claimed £250 from DLRC, which has gone to MacMillan Cancer support. This coffee morning and bake sale raised over £800 in total.
• Matt Judges has claimed £250 from DLRC whilst hosting a charity football match. This has gone to MacMillan Cancer support.
• Lori Mulcahy has claimed £210 from DLRC, which has gone to East Anglia Children’s Hospice.
• Heather Pilbrow has claimed £250 from DLRC after completing 3000 squats in November for Sands, her selected charity dedicated to Stillbirth and Neonatal death support.

Alongside this scheme, DLRC encourages charitable giving in our community by offering one day a year to each employee to complete volunteering work of their choice!

What’s to come in 2024?

This year has been a great success for charity and fundraising events, and we hope to continue this in the new year. The charity committee have been working to arrange new events in 2024. Some of the charities we are supporting next year include:

• Age UK
• Blue Cross
• Linda Norgrove Foundation
• Garden House Hospice
• Mind
• Wildlife Trust
• Air Ambulance
• Feeding Britain
• Herts Young Homeless
• Crisis

DLRC would love to take this opportunity to thank everyone who engaged and participated in our 2023 charity activities. We look forward to continuing in 2024!