Our Foundation’s primary goal is to strengthen Menzies’ communities. We believe that smaller, local charities have a more direct impact on the people living in our vicinity, so we put particular emphasis on supporting those organisations that lack the necessary funding. Not only is this important to us as a Firm but it is an approach that is strongly supported by our staff.
Our business and the way we operate are fuelled by our key values, and we take great pride in outwardly demonstrating these values to our communities and the wider surroundings. As a partnership, we are naturally collaborative and help to solve complex problems with empathy, to identify the best way forward together. It is our desire to inspire both our team and our client base, so that we can find innovative solutions to drive positive change.
Despite our focus on local charities, all our offices hold Macmillan Coffee Mornings to sponsor their cancer support services as well as the annual Jeans for Genes Day in support of Genetic Disorders UK. During Menzies’ Quarter One (2019), we raised £359.72 and £498.84 for both causes respectively.
Below, we have summarised, in a bit more detail, the Foundation’s fundraising efforts in each office during Menzies first quarter in 2019.
Local office fundraising updates
The Farnborough team presented £400 to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care and Chimney Farm International Dog Rescue 
Our Woking office raised £2000 after crossing 10 of London’s bridges! 
Menzies London handing over a cheque to Rethink Mental Illness 
The Solent team sponsored Menzies’ offspring to walk a 3 mile course around Portsmouth Historic Dockyard & sponsored a local youth football club 
Two Heathrow team members raised £400 on the Winter Walk for Alzheimer’s Society 
Our Leatherhead team joined in the Macmillan Coffee Morning and raised money for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices and Sight for Surrey 
Our Cardiff team supported Macmillan Cancer Support and Genetic Disorders UK.
The Welsh capital harbours our smallest team but they contributed fiercely to the firm-wide efforts that sponsor Macmillan Cancer Support and Genetic Disorders UK with flair, creativity and dedication. Competitions were held to squeeze out the most funding and it was worth it.
Our Farnborough site may call fewer staff its own but that does not stop the team from going the extra mile and prove their dedication to supporting worthy causes. During their annual charity quiz, the office raised £1,825 for Oakleaf, a mental health charity that works as a social enterprise to provide vocational training for those suffering from mental illness.
Bake sales and Dress Down Days raised another £52.15 which is going towards the two charities our Farnborough team is supporting this year, The Source Young People’s Charity, which offers counselling and mentoring for young people and young parents, and Samaritans of Farnborough.
The office was also able to present cheques to the two charities for which funds were raised during the previous financial year, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care and Chimney Farm International Dog Rescue, both of which received £400 each.
Our team in Heathrow presented a cheque of £1,500 to their charity of the year, East to West. This local organisation works with children, young people and their families across Surrey and Berkshire and offers support to those who struggle with difficult and damaging issues. Because the Heathrow team cares deeply about this cause, they raised another £100 for East to West during their social quiz night.
But the support didn’t stop there – two of our dedicated team members also completed the Winter Walk for Alzheimer’s Society and raised a fantastic £400, briskly walking through the streets of London.
To raise awareness of breast cancer and funds for Breast Cancer Now, the office celebrated Wear It Pink Day and raised a further £50.
The team in Leatherhead raised £119 for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices and £73 for Sight for Surrey, two charities the office is supporting throughout this financial year. Sight for Surrey offers lifetime support for the blind and partially sighted, deaf, deafblind and people who are hard of hearing.
Of course, as all of Menzies’ sites, our Leatherhead office also organised bake sales and Jeans for Genes Day to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and Genetic Disorders UK.
Our Central London office raised £260 with Dress Down Days and £154 during their social quiz night. Their GBBO-inspired cake sale raised another £30.70, and all monies were given to Menzies Charitable Foundation in support of Rethink Mental Illness. An organisation chosen by our London team to raise awareness of mental illness and to support those severely affected by it. Rethink Mental Illness will be supported throughout this financial year as London’s charity of the year.
Our office on the beautiful South Coast sent out its perhaps youngest charitable warriors to take part in the Children’s Starlit Walk and raise funds for Rowans Hospice. The Solent team sponsored Menzies’ offspring to walk a 3 mile course around Portsmouth Historic Dockyard during which they raised£97.
Keeping it young, our Solent Partners also decided to sponsor a local youth football club, the team East Lodge under 8 Mustangs – because sports matters, especially to children. The youngsters are not only training to become fit and healthy, but they are already practising Menzies’ Brighter Thinking through play and interaction with one another, thus, learning valuable life skills and giving back to the community.
In addition to organising bake sales in support of Macmillan Cancer Support and Genetic Disorders UK, the Solent team raised another £172 with Dress Down Days and donated this to Menzies Charitable Foundation.
Menzies’ Head Office in Woking saw the team zig-zagging over 10 of London’s bridges, walking for 3 hours and covering a distance of 8 miles. Not only was this good exercise, but by strengthening their calf muscles the team raised an incredible £2,000 for two local charities, The Therapy Gardens and Parkside – Aldershot & District Learning Disability. Both organisations focus on supporting people with learning difficulties. The Therapy Gardens also works with physical disabilities and mental health challenges to help generate positive change through gardening.
In addition to gracing Central London with their walking presence, our Woking team organised Dress Down Days and bake sales which raised another £238.46. The funds were split between Menzies Charitable Foundation and Alzheimer’s Society.