Like many companies we had to cancel our Christmas plans in 2020. No staff parties meant we had saved some money, so we decided to put it to good use and have some fun too.

Alongside other local companies we created the Christmas Charity Challenge where each company put in £1,000 to complete a charitable project. Employees from across the companies teamed up, chose a charity to support, and planned what they were going to do.

We contacted the hospice closest to our branch in Burntwood which happens to be the one based in Walsall. It was important to us that we chose a project which would benefit the children and families there and was something which they actually needed.

After speaking with Toby Mobberley, the Volunteers Manager, we agreed our project would be to build a new tool shed for their garden equipment as their old one was rotting away. The gardens are a wonderful part of the hospice as children get to go outside and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

It was a great opportunity to get to know colleagues who we have only communicated with over the phone or by email. Not only were we able to give back to our community but we had fun and built stronger relationships by working with Acorns.

Because we found it a beneficial activity, we have chosen to take on a Coast to Coast cycle challenge to raise further funds for Acorns.

We’d encourage anyone to support through their workplace. Raising funds and focusing on something that would benefit Acorns brought us closer as a team and gave us all a great sense of achievement.