The academic year went by like the blink of an eye, but that may be because we had so much fun raising money for several incredible causes.
We recognise the importance of giving back to our local communities and charity, contributing to the wellbeing of the communities and the environment in which we operate in.
Over previous years, we have donated over £14,000 to various charitable causes. This year, we wanted to go above and beyond.
Read on to hear about our charity events for the calendar year, and if you wish to donate, head to our JustGiving page.
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TeacherActive’s charity initiatives
We started our charity fundraising in September 2022, reaching new heights with a sponsored skydive. The team put their fears aside and took to the skies to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust, our partner charity. Cystic Fibrosis Trust is dedicated to funding cutting-edge research, driving up the standards of care and supporting people with the lung condition Cystic Fibrosis, along with their families. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic lung condition that affects more than 10,800 people in the UK, one in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing.
Every year we take part in Wear Yellow Day, and in 2023 we upped the ante with a dastardly challenge… inspired by the hit TV show Taskmaster, we set our teams a series of challenges to be judged by our very own Taskmaster. In July, a few brave team members took on tough terrain, ice, electricity and heaps of mud on one of Europe’s toughest obstacle courses: Tough Mudder. After a couple of hours of swimming in lakes, jumping over obstacles and wading through miles of (sometimes waist-high) mud, the team proudly finished the course together.
As part of our charity commitments, TeacherActive treble any money raised for Cystic Fibrosis Trust by the team in 2023, meaning the grand total increased to £9,228!
In September 2022 we raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support, taking their national coffee morning and hosting our own Great Blue and Orange Cake Off, raising £558. 2023's fundraising started with World Book Day, where our West Midlands team donated National Book Tokens through a superhero story competition. Across the country, we also took part in Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day, raising over £250.
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From the Ground Up
All of the above challenges were part of our internal Charity Cup, where teams earned points based on their charity efforts. Team West Midlands came out on top, winning a bio-diversity grant for a school of their choice via Groundwork. Groundwork is a charity which inspires communities and schools to create lasting change for a greener world by donating money to fund outdoor learning spaces. We are currently working with the winning school and are excited to see their new sensory garden and outdoor space!
Active Impact
Active Impact is an exciting new initiative we announced at the end of 2022 and launched in 2023. Our teams can choose and support the causes they are passionate about, with money donated from TeacherActive. Every year, each of our branches and departments receives a budget based on their performance. They can use this budget to donate money, goods, or services to any charity of their choice.
Whether a one-time donation or a long-term partnership, our teams have the freedom and flexibility to decide how they want to make an impact, supporting those most in need or those who often struggle to get funding from larger donors.
Over the year, our teams donated:
- Tourettes Action - £400
- Magic Breakfast - £500
- Havens Hospice - £110
- Many Tears Rescue - £500
- Salvation Army - £500
- Prop Appeal - £500
- Leukaemia Care - £500
- Emmanuel House - £1250
- Wirral’s Hospice St Johns - £300
- Juno Women’s Aid - £1250
- Ty Hafan - £500
- Old Illtydians Rugby Football Club (under 14s) £50
- Leeds South & East Food Bank - £300
- Alzheimer’s Society – £265
- Beat Eating Disorders - £265
- Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide - £265
More than just a donation
After TeacherActive’s donation, our team also took part in further initiatives to support the charities and their values. Our Exeter branch chose Tourettes Action to donate to, then took part in training to empower TeacherActive with ideas and actions as a business to support those with Tourette’s in our workplace and our schools. Team Chelmsford showed their spirit and stamina in a 5k race, followed by a donation to Havens Hospice, and finally, team Swansea hosted a raffle for Many Tears Rescue, visiting the dog shelter with toys for the pups.
The final amount
A huge thank you to everyone who participated, donated, and supported the charity events we ran from September 2022 to July 2023. Along with our commitment to triple the money raised for Cystic Fibrosis Trust, we are pleased to announce we have raised…
£28,771.50!
Our pledge
We are committed to continuing to support charities on a local and national level, uplifting our teams to allow them to support causes they care about in their local communities. Active Impact will reset for more donations in 2024, and we are excited to support more charities, including our charity of choice Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
To read more about our charity efforts, read our charity report that explores the 2022-2023 academic year below.
