At the end of each year, Lyons Davidson’s partners and staff select a charity or charities to raise funds for over the course of the coming year. As well as raising money and being great fun, the events call upon the generosity, ingenuity and dedication of staff. Please see below for details of our fundraising activities in 2011 and 2010.

2012

After the success of 2011’s regional focus, Lyons Davidson has again decided to raise funds locally for 2012. Once again, staff in each of our offices selected local organisations that are particularly meaningful to the area, or that have connections to staff members through their work or personal lives. The charities for 2012 are:

Bristol: Macmillan Cancer Support, to support a teenager and young adult aftercare specialist in Bristol. Just ten per cent of Bristol’s teenage cancer survivors receive support tailored to their needs. Many teenager cancer survivors find themselves having to make life-changing decisions coping with the lasting effects of treatment. Some may have lost a limb or have impaired hearing or vision. Adjusting to these changes can be a slow process, and dealing with the social, psychological and emotional after-effects can make them feel different from peers. The teenager and young adult aftercare specialist plays a vital role in this, providing support and guidance at every step. Macmillan Cancer Support is a national charity that works locally and in Bristol, more money is spent by Macmillan than is raised.

Leeds: Wheatfield Hospice, a specialist palliative care unit in Headingley, run by Sue Ryder. The hospice is there to enrich the quality of life of those living with serious illness and those around them, using the skills of a specialised, caring team, made up of Community Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), nurses who are trained to help people with their palliative care needs and to provide psychological and spiritual support to people with life-limiting illnesses, along with their family and friends. The hospice is also home to a consultant in palliative medicine.

Solihull and Birmingham: Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Marie Curie Cancer Care. Birmingham Children’s Hospital treats more than 225,000 sick children from around the country every year. Many experience very trying circumstances and all are courageous and determined, helped by a dedicated team of medical staff. The £3 million a year raised is used to make the hospital as up-to-date and child-friendly as possible, as well as funding research and buying medical equipment.

Marie Curie Cancer Care is dedicated to caring for more than 30,000 people affected by terminal cancer and other illnesses. The charity’s 2,000 nurses provide assistance in patients’ own homes, and there are also nine hospices around the country offering expert care and quality of life for those with life-limiting illnesses. Marie Curie also conducts vital research into caring for terminally ill patients.

Surrey, Bexhill-on-Sea and Whitstable: Cancer Research UK and Army of Angels.Cancer Research UK is the British arm of the worldwide charity dedicated to finding new ways of preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer. In this country, Cancer Research employs more than 4,000 researchers and medical staff to fight cancer and relies entirely on donations to fund its work.

The Army of Angels supports army, navy and air force personnel who have been physically or mentally injured in conflicts around the world, including the Falklands and the Gulf, and also helps dependants in need by, for example, paying for holiday breaks and assisting bereaved families.

Plymouth: The Primrose Unit at Derriford Hospital is a breast care centre that offers a dedicated service for investigating benign problems and breast cancer. Using the expertise of Derriford Hospital’s surgical, radiology and nursing teams, it deals with 4,000 patients every year.

Cardiff: Tŷ Hafan is the only hospice dedicated to children and young people in South Wales. It provides palliative care, in a hospice and in patients’ homes, to youngsters with life-limiting conditions, looking after their emotional, social and spiritual welfare, while also providing support to their families. It relies for most of its funding on the public’s generosity.
 

Edinburgh: Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), which runs the only hospice services in Scotland for children and young people. Its two hospices provide short breaks, emergency support, end-of-life-care and bereavement services for children affected by life-shortening illnesses and their families. CHAS also provides at-home care and relies mainly on donations for funding.

 

2011

After the success of 2010’s efforts for Headway, Lyons Davidson decided to put a regional focus on fundraising for 2011. Staff in each location chose local charities, which were selected for their personal connection to staff members or links to the firm because of work-related contacts. The charities chosen for 2011 are:

Bristol: St Peter’s Hospice, the only hospice in the area that cares for adults with incurable illnesses. Founded in 1969, St Peter’s Hospice works with healthcare professionals to improve patients’ quality of life, and to support their loved ones. The hospice provides all of its services free of charge, relying on donations for three-quarters of its running costs.

Leeds: Martin House, a hospice that has been supporting children and young people with life-limiting illnesses and their families, throughout Yorkshire, since 1987. Martin House is a leader in the field of palliative care for young people, and in 2002 it opened Whitby Lodge, the country’s first hospice specifically for teenagers and youngsters.

Solihull and Birmingham: Cancer Research, the worldwide charity dedicated to finding new ways of preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer. In the UK, Cancer Research employs more than 4,000 researchers and medical staff to fight cancer and relies entirely on donations to fund its work.

Surrey, Bexhill-on-Sea and Whitstable: Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charitable fund, recently the subject of a documentary series on Five. Its aim is to take seriously ill children’s minds off their pain, suffering and fear for a while, by making their wishes come true, and by providing entertainment to children’s wards in hospitals and hospices all round the country.

Plymouth: The Ethan Hague Tay-Sachs Disease Trust / Children's Hospice South West. The Plymouth office’s chosen charity for 2011 was the Ethan Hague Tay-Sachs Disease Trust, which supported local boy Ethan, who had been diagnosed with the degenerative disorder, and who tragically passed away on 3 July 2011, aged two years and 11 months. The trust raised money to make Ethan and his family’s lives as fulfilled and easy as possible. All further funds raised by the Plymouth office will now go to the Children’s Hospice South West, which has provided a great help to Ethan’s family.

Cardiff: Hospice of the Valleys, which has been helping people affected by serious illness in the South Wales valleys since 1985. It offers a drop-in service, cancer help clinics, a hospice-at-home service and bereavement services, and employs medical staff, social workers and more than a hundred volunteers.

Edinburgh: Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), a Scottish charity that runs the only hospice services in Scotland for children and young people. Its two hospices provide short breaks, emergency support, end-of-life-care and bereavement services for children affected by life-shortening illnesses and their families. CHAS also provides at-home care, and relies mainly on donations for funding.

2010

On 10 December 2009, Lyons Davidson picked up the Headway Baton Challenge and by the end of 2010 we had collected a grand total of £81,684.83.

Headway, the brain injury association, is a charity that works to improve life after brain injury by providing support, care and information to survivors, families and carers.

As well as collecting money, we also strived to increase awareness of acquired brain injuries, which are often ‘hidden’ injuries. The Headway Baton Challenge was a national effort for the firm, with partners and staff in all our offices holding scores of events throughout 20l1. These included:

• Small-scale regular events, for example, cake sales and dress-down Fridays;
• Seasonal fundraisers, themed on St Patrick’s Day, Valentines and Halloween;
• Grand one-off events like the Headway Ball.

Numerous individuals also put in superhuman effort to raise cash for Headway, with achievements such as:

• Triathlons;
• Skydiving;
• Mountain-climbing in the Himalayas;
• Following the Royal Marines’ training course across Dartmoor;
• Marathons.

Click here to read a copy of our Headway Baton Challenge Review of 2010.