Caring Plymouth employees raise charity funds at the double

Generous Chivas Brothers employees have had their charity fundraising efforts boosted by £33,000 in the last year thanks to the company’s doubling up scheme. This, in addition to the £47,000 employees raised themselves, totals £80,000 for good causes – a £10,000 increase on the amount raised last year. Beneficiaries included Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK, Movember, Comic Relief, CHAS, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, The Prince’s Trust, NSPCC and several local charities.

Chivas Brothers employees can apply to have their fundraising efforts matched by up to £500 each year, and the grand total was raised by employees from across the company’s 28 UK sites – including those at its Hammersmith offices, and Beefeater and Plymouth gin distilleries. They took part in fundraising activities including marathons, sponsored cycles and walks, moustache growing, party nights, zip-wires, Burns Supers, Golf tournaments and more.

One employee who contributed to this total was Philippe Lutcher of the company’s Hammersmith office. He raised £1,100 for Action Medical Research by cycling from London to Paris in just four days. This was increased to £1,600 by the company.

He said: “Action Medical Research is a great charity that raises funds for vital projects to help save and change children's lives – including babies born prematurely and children who suffer from incurable rare diseases. It has played a great part in some key medical breakthroughs over the past 60 years.  It’s fantastic that Chivas Brothers has this doubling up scheme.”

On the challenge itself he added: “It was nice to meet so many new people during my ride and I thoroughly enjoyed the grand finale to the Eiffel Tower.  A sea of 350 riders taking over the Parisian streets – what a sight to remember!”

Challenge Events Manager Oly Watts at Action Medical Research said: “Today in the UK, there are hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled children who need our help. The London to Paris bike ride is our flagship event and we’re delighted that the ride will raise in excess of £700,000. This is a tremendous amount and will help fund much needed projects.