What inspires you to do this kind of event?
This event came completely out of the blue! I was actually trying to get companies to donate prizes for a raffle when Usborne Publishing offered to donate a £300 cheque to Richard House Hospice. This gave me the inspiration to try and give Richard House Hospice a new library of books.
It took off from there – publishers small and large made such fantastic donations, and when we hit 500 books I knew we had to ‘spread-the-love’ a bit. That’s when Hospice UK told me about CHaL (Children’s Hospices across London) and we were able to invite the children’s hospices along to our ‘surprise’ event. I gave myself the goal of getting £10,000 worth of books which I’m so pleased we managed to beat.
I found having that goal really spurred me to get in contact with every children’s book publisher I could find. I take my inspiration from what others around me are doing. We have regular ambassador calls with Hospice UK and I listen to what the other teams are doing and make notes, to see if there are any ideas I can use here at Shell.
How many books were donated and how much money was raised?
We had 30 donors (including publishers and book shops) donate 1,434 books worth £11,896. I was hoping to get enough to fill one or two boxes, so I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the generous support we have received.
What do you plan on doing next?
We have a number of really exciting events coming up over the next few months, including retail volunteering days for Royal Trinity Hospice in October. We had so much fun on our first day earlier in the year, the other volunteers asked me to set up more. In addition, Carillion have also organised an abseil in London and the team of six have already raised almost £900.
For Christmas I thought it would be nice to say ‘thank you’ to the hospice workers and volunteers who give up their time. During November, I will be collecting all sorts of goodies (thing like boxes of chocolates, biscuits and sweets) and we will take them to the hospices in early December for the team to enjoy. So many volunteers give their time to support hospices over the festive period, it will be nice for them to receive something themselves.
What do you enjoy most about being a charity ambassador?
I love being a charity ambassador at Carillion for Hospice UK and I enjoy being able to give back and encouraging others to do the same.
It’s great to see the difference our team here at Shell can have. We are actually quite a small services contract, managing with less than 70 people working for us, but everyone pulls together whether it’s for a fundraising event, or a volunteering activity.
My managers and those I work with in Carillion allow me to dedicate time to being the ambassador, and Shell also support everything we do and join in where possible. I am just one person, but having the support network around me makes everything a lot easier. I also think that having direct contact with hospices is great.
The Shell locations in London are linked to three hospices; Royal Trinity, St John’s and Richard House. Being able to go and visit the hospices, meet the people and attend events makes it a really personable experience we know the people we are helping, and that encourages others to give their time or money during an event.
Finally, for you why is it so important to support hospice care?
I think that hospice care can be something that people don’t really value or appreciate until they need it. I haven’t had personal experience, but still appreciate the work they do, not only for the people who need the care, but also the support they provide the families during difficult times.
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