Staff at West Yorkshire-based HSL Chairs have raised a massive £11,000 for two amazing local charities, both of which are close to the team’s heart, thanks to its array of internal fundraising activities.
Last week, Kevin Wall and Sue Shaw from HSL presented the charities with their giant cheques for £5,500, which was raised to help both organisations to continue their amazing work, providing comfort and care to children and elderly people.
The factory and head office on Grange Road in Batley, took part in a number of activities, culminating in a unique charity auction, raising a massive £5,500 for Kirkwood Hospice and the Sick Children’s Trust respectively.
The fun kicked off with a few generous – and crazy – HSL staff members agreeing to a range of hilarious challenges if fundraising targets were met. Upholstery Team Leader, Charlotte Akroyd, legendary in the factory for her dislike of anything feminine, agreed to step outside her comfort zone and glam up for the day including donning a dress, heels and having her hair and make-up done, if the team raised more than £100.
Once this target was smashed, Steve Rowbottom, Production Manager, agreed to host the charity auction in the style of David Dickinson – including recreating his outrageous tan – if the team raised another £100. Finally, Alison Brookes, Store Environment Assistant agreed to dye her hair five different colours if an additional £100 could be raised ahead of the auction on Friday. Staff, along with their families and friends all gave generously ensuring all of these challenges went ahead.
HSL then teamed up with a number of suppliers for the auction which saw ‘lots’ including HSL furniture, Redbrick Mill vouchers, England football tickets, a Leeds Rhinos signed shirt, Jack Charlton signed memorabilia, Spa treatments, a London weekend break and cleaning & decorating services up for grabs.
Chris Hudson, CEO at HSL, comments: “We are so pleased with the effort and passion that went into making the charity auction such an amazing success. The generosity shown by both our staff & our suppliers was overwhelming, they fully got behind our fundraising efforts for two very worthwhile charities. I’d like to say a big thank you, we are delighted with how much we raised and look forward to the rest of our charity activity that we have planned throughout the year.”
Emily Kennedy at Kirkwood Hospice comments: “We are delighted at the continued support from HSL. The money raised is a great help and will be put towards ensuring we are able to continue providing specialist care for those people in Kirklees and the surrounding area facing life-threatening illness.”
