Business Operations Manager Helen and the team HomeLet, part of the PIB Group have raised and donated over £40,000 since they started fundraising for St Barnabas in 2018. The Hospice won their hearts, and the passion of the St Barnabas team secured Helen’s support too.
In their first year, the team raised over £10,000. From monthly office bingo and a sausage roll competition to bake sales, pub quizzes and dressing-up days – it’s safe to say they have an appetite for fundraising and certainly put the fun into it!
Everyone in the office has been involved in fundraising over the years and challenges are a favourite. Those on the ticked list include the Three Peaks and Snowden climbs, Tough Mudder and The Wolf Run. A team of five took on the latter, finishing the epic challenge covered top to toe in mud and aching for days after! When the HomeLet team commits to a challenge, they put their all into it, and 30 walkers and runners did just that in the St Barnabas Colour Dash, while 14 of the team tested their mental strength in the Hospice Fire Walk.
Behind every fundraising event and challenge they take on is Helen organising and spreading the word, encouraging people to support the team with donations. Every £1 raised by HomeLet is matched by the PIB Community Trust Initiative (backed by PIB, which gives a proportion of its revenues to charity annually). The year before the Covid-19 pandemic was a record breaker for the team, presenting a fantastic £20,000 total!
Community-minded HomeLet also provides the team with funds to buy Christmas presents for patients spending Christmas day in the Inpatient Unit in Lincoln. Gifts are placed in Christmas boxes and given to patients on Christmas morning, which is always very much appreciated by patients and the staff.
That same community spirit runs through the entire HomeLet team, and we’re proud to call them our corporate partners.
In her own words… “I don’t think people know the true value of the Hospice until they have to access it. Then they become an ambassador for life.”