Category Archives: Charity & CSR

Care, Charity & CSR, Insurance, Midlands News, News

Aviva and Innovation Group join forces to deliver garden ‘DIY SOS’ makeover for Progress Care

Thirty kind-hearted volunteers have joined forces to complete their very own DIY SOS project at a Brownhills home for children with complex needs.

Loss adjusters from leading insurer Aviva swapped their day jobs for paint brushes, trowels and shovels as they pitched in to help drainage, geotechnical and subsidence specialists from Innovation Group plc to transform an outside space at one of Progress Care’s ten homes.

It is the first time the two specialists in the insurance world have come together on a challenge and in just six hours they successfully managed to fix block paving, build planters and raised beds, improve wheelchair access and install a number of sensory boards and new swings.

The biggest task of the day was also completed in style, with over 200 wheelbarrows of soil removed to create a new, safer ground floor home for the trampoline.

More than 180 hours of time went into the garden makeover, which will now allow the eight children who live in the home to enjoy a great outdoor space and lots of fun activities that will stimulate their senses.

Claire Rogers, Managing Director of Progress Care, is keen to see the future impact of the project: “Austerity and funding cuts have caused our sector a lot of issues and we are always looking to partner with kind-hearted businesses that can help us deliver the best possible facilities and living experiences for the children we look after.

“All of them have complex needs and physical disabilities and the garden is such an important place for them to relax, play and, in some cases, learn. The outside space at our Brownhills home needed some ‘TLC’, so we were delighted when a chance conversation with Aviva employees turned into this fantastic DIY SOS.”

She went on to add: “I can’t believe the difference and how quickly it was achieved with the volunteers all working together to bring the garden to life. Our children are already enjoying spending more time outside, as this has become so important after we spent a lot of the last two years isolating due to Covid-19.”

Aviva, a leading general insurer in the UK, is committed to supporting the local communities it operates in and offers all employees up to three ‘volunteering days’ every year.

When the project at Progress Care was raised, a team of seventeen loss adjustors put themselves forward, travelling the length and breadth of the country to take part.

Due to the complex nature of the DIY SOS challenge, the company reached out to Innovation Group, one of its leading supply chain specialists, to help it with drainage, block paving and subsidence work in the garden.

Tanya Bellamy, Commercial Field and Major Loss Leader at Aviva, commented: “The response to the Progress Care project was fantastic, with many of our volunteers travelling hundreds of miles to take part.

“They really threw themselves into it, working closely with the more experienced Innovation Group staff to paint, dig, plant and repair. It’s a bit different to their day job but judging by all the smiles during the day and the reaction we saw from the children, it was six hours well spent.”

Tony Kilgannon, Regional Manager Northern Division at Innovation Group, added his support: “As soon as I visited the home and met some of the children we’d be helping, I had an emotional attachment to making the outside space as good as it could be, the same attachment that I know the rest of our staff had during the day.

“Working with our good friends at Aviva, we have created a sensory garden in just six hours, making it an accessible, safe and fun space with lots of things to do, whether that is trampolining, playing on the swings, enjoying the 3D spinner or touching the different textures of the flowers we’ve put in.

“The children have very challenging lives, so this project was all about giving them something to smile about and a place where they can experience new things.”

Progress has evolved from offering a small residential and fostering service in 2000 into one of the leading independent providers of specialist social care services in the Midlands.

The company, which employs over 220 people, is committed to preventing family breakdowns by increasing resilience and reducing dependency, by blending a range of community-based services designed to support semi-independent and independent living.

This includes creating ten ‘home from home’ residential properties in Brownhills, Coventry, Derby, Rowley Regis, Walsall, Wednesbury and Wolverhampton.

Claire concluded: “A big thank you to Aviva and Innovation Group for what they have given the children.

“Employees from the two businesses have already agreed to help us with more challenges on our properties and we’d also appeal to other companies – looking for ‘feel good’ transformational projects for their staff – to come and talk to us.”

 

Appointments, Charity & CSR, Hospice News, News

Two new appointments to Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice executive team

Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice has announced two new senior appointments, strengthening the 23-year-old charity’s executive team. 

Tracy Jones, Tŷ Hafan’s former Head of Community & Partnerships, has been appointed to the new role of Director of Family Wellbeing & Outreach Services. This new directorate is a first for children’s hospices in the UK.  

Maria Timon Samra, Chief Executive, said: “The new role of Director of Family Wellbeing & Outreach Services reflects Tŷ Hafan’s commitment to ensuring that children in Wales with life-shortening conditions, their siblings and families can access care and support when and where they need it most. 

“Since joining the charity in 2009 as a senior family support practitioner, Tracy has successfully built out our community propositions.  A key contributor in our care leadership team, she has always put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do to ensure they benefit from Tŷ Hafan’s services, whether in the hospice, at home, in hospital or in the community.” 

A qualified social worker, Tracy Jones, said: “I am very excited to join the executive team and to have the opportunity to lead and further develop our family wellbeing and outreach services. I have had the immense privilege of meeting hundreds of families during my years at Tŷ Hafan and know, from listening to their stories, just how much they value our community-based support and this is something I hope to be able to grow.  I look forward to working closely with the families and my colleagues to continuously improve the services we offer.”  

Also joining Tŷ Hafan’s executive team is Jenna Lewis, who has been appointed to the role of Director of Income Generation. 

“Jenna is no stranger to Tŷ Hafan, having previously been Head of Individual Giving for the charity from 2012-2015,” said Maria Timon Samra.  “As a Trustee during that time I was really impressed by Jenna’s professionalism, clarity of thought, insightful use of data and her commitment to generating income to support the provision of care. 

“With extensive charity experience, over the past seven years Jenna has further developed her expertise, including in the role of Director of Fundraising and Communications at Llamau. 

“It has been a pleasure to give her a warm welcome (back!) to Tŷ Hafan.” 

Said Jenna, who has also previously worked for Horatio’s Garden and Macmillian Cancer Support: “Tŷ Hafan is an iconic Welsh charity which has provided care and support for more than 1,100 children with life-shortening conditions and their families in Wales since it first opened its doors in 1999. 

“It now costs £5.2m a year – equivalent to £14,500 a day – for us provide those care and support services. The vast majority of that sum we raise ourselves, thanks to the generosity of our amazing supporters in Wales and beyond.  

“This is an incredibly challenging time to be fundraising with the rise of cost of living hitting everyone hard, but it is so important that we are able to raise the funds we need to ensure that every family with a child with a life-shortening condition in Wales gets the support and care they need, when and where they need it. I am very excited about working with my colleagues across Tŷ Hafan to ensure we are there for every family in Wales who needs us.” 

Charity & CSR, Healthcare, News

The Whitchurch Clinic Supports Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club

The Whitchurch Clinic is supporting Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club for its 2022 season as a lead sponsor and partner.

The Merthyr Road clinic, which provides a range of therapies such as chiropractic care, physiotherapy, acupuncture, sports massage, and hypnotherapy, is helping the club with financial support, as well as offering discounted treatments for members.

Whitchurch Heath has four Senior league sides and a thriving youth section that runs teams at ages under nine, 11, 13 and 15. They are dedicated to playing competitive cricket in a welcoming, inclusive and social atmosphere in the north Cardiff suburb.

Peter Byron, Whitchurch Heath Chair, said: “We’re so grateful for the support of The Whitchurch Clinic this season. After a tough two years due to the pandemic, it’s great to see our local club thriving and the players back doing what they love, and that’s thanks to the support of local businesses such as The Whitchurch Clinic.”

Andrea Howell, principal chiropractor and clinic director at The Whitchurch Clinic, said: “We’re very excited to develop our relationship with Whitchurch Heath, and help support them as they settle back into normality. We are committed to supporting community causes and we’re looking forward to watching the teams in action.”

Whitchurch Heath Cricket Club is always interested in connecting with businesses that share its values and can help it deliver on its five-year plan for the future of the club. Find out more at https://whitchurch-heath.play-cricket.com/home.

 

Charity & CSR, News, Sport

Glorious golf day putts smile on charity’s face

A fundraising golf day organised by a leading financial specialist for a children’s charity has been hailed a huge success after raising £7,000.

Q Financial Services – which has bases in Wellington and Shrewsbury – staged the special day at Wrekin Golf Club in aid of the Little Rascals Foundation, with former Wolves manager Dave Jones joining fellow football star Jay Bothroyd and around 100 players for the event.

Q director Stuart Mackintosh said the day and evening meal could not have been better, with players and guests coming from across Shropshire and the Midlands to boost the fundraising effort.

“We had the most marvellous day and I cannot thank everybody enough for giving up their time to support both the Little Rascals Foundation and all of us at Q Financial Services,” said Stuart.

“Having people of the calibre of Dave Jones give our after-dinner speech, and also being supported by former Wolves star Jay made the day all the more special. We particularly enjoyed the Pro Challenge, in which Q’s own Mike Barton used his skills as a tennis coach to volley balls onto the 14th green and challenge the golfers to get closer.

“I’d also like to say a big thank you to Wrekin Golf Club for their excellent support and to everyone who sponsored the day, donated prizes for the raffle and the lots for our charity auction.”

The Little Rascals Foundation was set up by former Wales, Wolves and Shrewsbury Town star Dave Edwards and Q mortgage partner Ben Wootton to support children with disabilities and their families.

The foundation works to provide the help the children need to enhance their lives and increase their independence so that they can realise their potential.

 

Dave, himself a director at Q, said: “The foundation is hugely grateful to Q and everybody who took part in what was a very special day. Every penny raised will go towards helping give youngsters the best possible opportunities in life and putting smiles on some truly deserving faces.”

For more information about Q visit  www.qfinancialservices.co.uk/

Charity & CSR, Healthcare, News

Cancer Research Horizons renews partnership with Edinburgh University entrepreneur incubator programme

Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research organisation is renewing its partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s flagship Venture Builder Incubator which supports the commercialisation of data-driven PhD research.

Cancer Research Horizons, through its Entrepreneurial Programmes, will sponsor ten places for cancer-related research projects from across the UK to take part on this 16-week programme which aims to drive academic entrepreneurship by supporting PhD students and early career researchers to develop their business ideas, build their skills and secure funding.

In 2021, the first year of the Cancer Research Horizons collaboration, eight companies operating in the field of cancer were selected as start-ups for the incubator.

For the second year running, Cancer Research Horizons’ continued support for PhD students and researchers will play an important role in accelerating the commercialisation of ideas aimed at conquering cancer.

Laura Bernal, Venture Builder Incubator Programme Manager, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Cancer Research Horizons again this year. Our Incubator programme is designed to help fledgling entrepreneurs across all sectors of business build their skills and take their businesses to the next level and through continuing to build our relationship with the brilliant team at Cancer Research Horizons, we can ensure that we are supporting the commercialisation of vital research across 10 cancer-related projects this year.”

The Venture Builder Incubator, delivered by the Bayes Centre, the University of Edinburgh’s world-leading innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, on behalf of the University’s five Data-Driven Innovation Hubs and Edinburgh Innovations, the commercialisation service of the University, will start later this year and builds on the success of the previous cohorts which have seen considerable success, attracting £1.8m in funding in the last 12 months.

Previous oncology-related ventures focused on developing early diagnosis tools and less invasive testing to enable improved outcomes for people affected by cancer. They included: OncoAssign, a precision medicine startup integrating AI and onco-diagnostics to deliver accurate treatment prediction; 10zyme, a start-up devising a simple method of detecting cancers through urine or saliva samples; ForceBiology, developers of a versatile, more accurate and cost-effective high throughput drug-screening platform for cancer and Therapevo, a screening platform striving to fill the gap between research and the medical testing of new therapeutic strategies.

Commenting on her experience as a participant in last year’s cohort, Estefania Esposito, Co-founder of Therapevo, said: “Being introduced to a network of Venture Builder cohorts past and present was invaluable. They all had different backgrounds, and even when they had similar backgrounds, they all added something: an experience, an idea or an opinion.”

Dr Alessia Errico, Associate Director of Search and Evaluation, and Entrepreneurial Programmes Lead at Cancer Research Horizon said: “We want to inspire the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs in the field of cancer research as well as inspiring cultural change within the industry, so working alongside Edinburgh University and theirData Driven Innovation programme provides us with the perfect platform to do this.

“Supporting entrepreneurs on the journey from an ideation to venture creation is one of the most important things that we can do, so we are excited about what this next year will bring.”

The Venture Builder Incubator is designed to help fledgling entrepreneurs across all sectors build their skills and take their businesses to the next level.  Start-ups are chosen after an application process which is open to PhD students, early career researchers and academic staff from the University of Edinburgh or Heriot-Watt University, as well as early career researchers focused on cancer-related projects from across the UK.

Each startup is provided with £2,000 as well as business support through a series of workshops, networking events, mentoring, peer-to-peer learnings and access to the University of Edinburgh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and its data expertise.

Applications have now opened for the Venture Builder Incubator 3.0. For more information visit https://edinburghdde.com/dde-programmes/venture-builder-incubator-2 The early bird deadline for applications is Friday 22nd July and those entering before this date are guaranteed application feedback and the chance to resubmit their proposal and an invitation to a Bayes Centre Community Event. The final deadline for applications is Friday 9 September.

Awards, Charity & CSR, Midlands News, News, Northamptonshire

Students’ outstanding achievements are recognised at Foundation’s annual awards

The extraordinary achievements of children and young people who have been working with the Northampton Saints Foundation were recognised at a special awards evening.

Held at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, the event was attended by 120 guests, including children and young people from the Foundation’s education and social inclusion programmes, trustees, supporters, donors and fundraisers, parents and guardians.

The Northampton Saints Foundation was founded in 2017 using sporting values to inspire, educate and support children and young people as they build positive futures for themselves.

Chief Executive of the Northampton Saints Foundation, Catherine Deans said: “The awards ceremony was all about our remarkable young people, recognising their achievements and just how far they have come – we are so proud of each and every one of them.

“It was also an opportunity to thank our supporters and our volunteers who have done so much to support our work throughout the past year.”

Among those students who were recognised at the event was Domi Szablinska, who joined the Foundation’s Engage + programme, which is run in partnership with Northampton College, earlier this year. She received the Foundation Values Award.

She said: “At the beginning of the academic year I went to college, and it wasn’t working for me. But I came to the Northampton Saints Foundation, and everything has been better. I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have been given and everything the team has done for me. I wish that more young people could get involved with the Foundation so they could experience the same things that I have.”

Sidney, who also won a Foundation Values Award through his work with the Engage programme, said: “I am really happy to receive this award. The Northampton Saints Foundation has really helped me to develop my confidence and I’ve had a blast in Engage.”

A special contribution award was presented to Marcel Binley of The Roastery, a coffee company based in Wellingborough, which has supported The Foundation by offering work experience placements to its students, barista qualifications and has raised money for the Foundation through the development of a bespoke coffee blend called Marching In.

Accepting the award, he said: “Just having the opportunity to work with these students gives us so much joy. Watching them grow and learn about coffee has been a huge privilege. We will keep on doing everything we can.”

A total of 14 awards were given out during the evening, which was hosted by BBC Radio Northampton’s sports editor and Saints’ historian, Graham McKechnie.

For more information about the Northampton Saints Foundation and the work they do to support children and young people, visit their website at www.northamptonsaintsfoundation.org

 

Photography
Domi Szablinska receives her Foundation Values award from the Foundation’s Employability Lead, Craig Philips and ambassador, former Saints player, Tom Wood.

—

About the Northampton Saints Foundation

The Northampton Saints Foundation was founded in 2017 to help give children and young people the help and support they need to build a positive future.

Inspired by the history of the Northampton Saints, the Foundation uses sporting values to inspire, support and educate young people through social inclusion and education programmes. In the past year, more than 5,000 children have taken part in education programmes delivered by the Foundation in schools.

You can learn more about the Foundation’s work at www.northamptonsaintsfoundation.org or on Twitter by following @SaintsFdation.

Charity & CSR, Climate, News, North of England, Sustainability

Shoosmiths leads transformation at Trafford Ecology Park

LAW firm Shoosmiths and its Manchester office have transformed the kitchen garden of the Trafford Ecology Park, as part of its latest corporate volunteering efforts.
Five Shoosmiths employees, alongside 13 business and charity contacts of the firm, including Lloyds Bank, CBRE, Derwent Estates and Euro Garages, spearheaded a volunteering day to transform the green space hidden in the industrial area of Trafford Park – maintained by local charity Groundwork Greater Manchester.
Following years of manufacturing activity in Europe’s largest industrial estate impacting Trafford Park’s natural environment, Shoosmiths, alongside some of its key contacts, cleared overgrown areas to create a kitchen garden. The space will be utilised by the park’s visitors and employees as an area where they can learn about food growing and sustainable food production.
Post the day, plans are in place to reconvene the group of volunteers later in the year to discuss more productive collaboration across the business and charity sectors.
Robert Nieri, charity lawyer at Shoosmiths and head of the Manchester office’s charity committee, commented: “A huge thank you to the volunteers, who took the time to come together to transform an unused area of the nature reserve to create a better environment for workers in Trafford Park – in doing so creating a real haven.
“The purpose of the day was to first and foremost help maintain this beautiful space, but to do so in the company of likeminded people from other organisations, to talk about environmental, social and governance considerations and to forge closer collaboration between businesses and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, for mutual benefit.”
Stephanie Wyatt, marketing and sales manager at Groundwork Greater Manchester, added: “It was fantastic to see so many new faces at the Ecology Park and hear from businesses who are committed to making sustainability improvements. The new kitchen garden that volunteers built will provide Groundwork with the opportunity to engage more people with the topic of sustainable food production and consumption, plus we’re excited to see what we can grow here! We’re extremely grateful to Shoosmiths for arranging the event and hope it inspires more businesses to volunteer and connect with nature.”
Charity & CSR, News, North of England

The Vita Group teams up with Shelter to provide hundreds of mattresses for Merseyside children

One of Europe’s leading providers of flexible foam, The Vita Group has donated 280 mattresses to Shelter and the L6 Community Centre based in Liverpool, in a bid to support struggling families across the region.  

The Vita Group and Shelter have been working with the L6 Community Centre to distribute mattresses to families where they are most needed across Merseyside.  

In the North West, a total of 12,500 people – one in every 587 – are currently homeless, including more than 5,500 children. Of these, more than 220 people are sleeping rough while 12,200 people – including many families – are living in temporary accommodation due to a lack of permanent social housing and the soaring costs linked to private renting.  

L6 community centre’s close role within the Merseyside community means they are able to prioritise the areas where the mattresses are most needed,  ensuring children and families across the region who are rough sleeping  benefit from access to a clean, high-quality, durable bed, whilst  looking for a permanent housing solution.  

Liz Norris, Acting Strategic Lead at Shelter, said: “Here in Merseyside, and across the whole country, there is a housing emergency.  

“We are thrilled to be working with Vita again and this time, we are donating to families. Those children, those families, that are also homeless – whether that is living in temporary accommodation, sofa surfing, stuck in dire conditions – they now have a mattress and a bed to call their own and stay in longer term. The impact of this is going to be phenomenal!” 

Gerard Woodhouse, L6 Community Centre, said: “The cost-of-living crisis  mean that means that the main priorities are feeding and heating your home. Mattresses and other pieces of furniture slip to the back of the queue. People cannot afford to have it all. 

“We have been working with Vita and Shelter for a number of months and cannot thank them enough for what they have done! It is unbelievable. The smiles on parents and their children’s faces are unbelievable, you’d think it was Father Christmas coming again!” 

Mark Lewis, Regional Director at The Vita Group, said: “Being socially responsible is one of The Vita Group’s key values. We believe that responsibility extends beyond our employees and includes the communities in which we operate and society as a whole.  

“We are delighted to have seen the difference our previous donations have made within the North West first-hand and that our contributions are reaching the most vulnerable families and children in Merseyside.  

“The continued work Shelter and the L6 Community Centre complete is invaluable to the region and creating a resolution to the wider growing homelessness crisis we face. The Vita Group is honoured to offer our continued support to these two key organisations and play our part in their important work.” 

Alongside this Merseyside donation, the Manchester-based manufacturer has pledged to donate 300 mattresses over three stages – equating to £50,000 – to Shelter for the benefit of the Greater Manchester homeless population, with 200 already been delivered.  

Outside of the UK, The Vita Group’s Hungarian and Romanian facilities are manufacturing and supplying an additional 125,000 mattresses to the UNICEF organisation.  

Charity & CSR, News, North Wales, Tourism

Thanks Tourism! 4k Raised For Local Children’s Charity At North Wales Holiday Parks

LOCAL children of families living on the breadline will be reaping the generosity of guests from a popular holiday park group this season.

Lyons Holiday Parks, North Wales’s leading family holiday park group, has raised over £4,000 in aid of North Wales Superkids following two fundraising campaigns this season.

North Wales Superkids is a charity which helps relieve the needs of children and young people up to the age of 25 who are socially and economically disadvantaged – whether through financial hardship, domestic violence, health, substance misuse or other social and economic factors.

Generous donations from holiday makers and holiday homeowners from all over the UK have been totted up following an Easter ‘chick appeal,’ and a black-tie charity event this weekend at Lyons Eryl Hall in St Asaph.

The ‘chick appeal’ saw the Lyons groups’ coastal and countryside holiday parks flooded with thousands of knitted chicks, each containing a Cadbury’s Crème Egg, which were sold over the Easter period at 14 of the Lyons-owned bars and venues from Lyons Lido Beach in Prestatyn right through to the ownership, touring, and camping holiday park, Lyons Pendyffryn Hall near Penmaenmawr.

Ailsa Morris, head of food and beverage, said: “When the opportunity came up to help Margaret, we didn’t even have to think about it. We put the chicks in every one of our on-park bars or coffee shops and before we knew it, there were thousands floating about everywhere!

“They went down an absolute storm and were especially popular with our owners. It really struck us the generosity of some people, and our team were keen to spread the message about Superkids and the work that they do.”

Following the success of the egg-cellent appeal, Chris Watts, park manager of the exclusive owners-only holiday park in St Asaph, decided more was to be done for the local cause.

He said: “Although Lyons Eryl Hall is a holiday park, the word ‘community’ or ‘country village’ is more fitting, and what better way to celebrate our lovely community here than with a charity event to bring everyone together.

“Our owners are always incredible when it comes to fundraising appeals, and seeing how popular the chicks were, it just felt right to host a charity ball here in aid of the charity.

Dozens of donations were received for the raffle and auction, including a trip to Milan, spa day at The White House Rhuallt, a free gas test from David Roe, a bath hamper from Del Creations and cleaning services from TT Cleaning.

Chris added: “The night was spectacular, a proper team effort, and it was fantastic to see our holiday homeowners here on-park enjoy themselves all in aid of a great cause. The venue looked fantastic, thanks to our dedicated team, who we couldn’t have done this without.

“We love hosting events like this for our owners – we do across all of our parks – and the fact it was for charity made the atmosphere all the more special.”

Founder Margaret Williams, from Flint, who has over 30 years’ experience in the North Wales social care scene, said: “On behalf of all at North Wales Superkids, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Lyons Holiday Parks, and also to your wonderful holiday visitors for buying and eating our Crème Eggs chicks.

“The Lyons effort raised an amazing total of £613, and £2133.10 overall from all outlets which will be going towards our caravan project in Pwllheli.

“I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you for the amazing news that the summer ball held at Lyons Eryl Hall in St Asaph raised an absolutely staggering £2000. This will be vital for our Christmas Toy Box appeal project, ensuring that all referred children and young people can wake up on Christmas morning with smiles rather than tears, knowing Santa has not forgotten them.”

The Lyons Group will continue working alongside North Wales Superkids throughout the year in order to help as many families as possible.

Joseph Lyons Mound, company director said: “Look how amazing it is that holidaymakers and holiday homeowners did this, it’s incredible. We’re proud of the communities we continue to build across the North Wales coast and country, bringing people together from all parts of the country in such fantastic locations.

“We’re also dedicated to our own community, the locals who make North Wales the beauty that it is and as they give so much to us, we always want to give what we can back. Superkids as an organisation, and the work that Margaret does for it, is just absolutely phenomenal and we’re proud to be working in partnership with a charity that brings more joy and comfort to North Wales’s children than any of us can put into words.”

Charity & CSR, Midlands News, News

Stars on target to raise cash for special charity

Stars of sport and TV have helped raise nearly £30,000 for an independent charity at a hugely successful clay shooting event.

Former England rugby captain Dylan Hartley, fellow internationals James Haskell and Tom Wood and Sky Sports commentator Alex Payne were among the stars taking part in the inaugural Get A-Head Charitable Trust clay shooting day.

Get A-Head chairman Tom Bromwich said the day had been such a success that a date had already been set for a second event next year.

The Birmingham-based Get A-Head trust helps people suffering from neck and head diseases, including cancer, and has raised more than £10million since it was formed in 1994.

Tom, the founding partner of Coventry-based commercial property agency Bromwich Hardy, said the event at the Royal Berkshire Shooting Ground owned by Purdey could not have been better.

“We were blessed with the most fantastic weather, had an excellent turnout and wonderful support. I cannot thank all those who gave up their time to come along and help us raise vital funds enough. We have far surpassed our wildest hopes with the amount raised.

“There was a real sense of enjoyment throughout the day and the fact that it was raising money for such a worthwhile cause as Get A-Head made it all the better.

“The funds will contribute to our work supporting a range of projects and equipment that will make a real difference to those fighting head and neck disease and help us win the fight against some of the rarest cancers and diseases. I am sure everyone who will benefit would want to join me in thanking all those who helped raise this terrific amount.”

The event was organised by Steve Dixon of The Do Club and enjoyed main sponsorship from City Electrical Factors. Get A-Head founder John Watkinson spoke of his pride in the work of the charity and thanked guests, who included Bromwich Hardy partner Dawn Cooper.

Tom said next year’s event would be on June 22 and would build on the success of this year’s inaugural day.

For more information about the charity visit https://getahead.org.uk/