Pictured above from left: Dave Doyle (Retail Logistics Supervisor, Prospect); Ann Fisher (Zurich HR) and Colin Gale (Prospect volunteer).
16 May 2011: Staff from Zurich's Human Resources Department have just donated more than 40 bags of good-quality items for their local Hospice to sell to raise funds in its 12 shops.
At the start of the month, employees from across Zurich were asked to take part in a range of activities for many good causes as part of its charity arm’s Zurich Community Trust Challenge programme 2011. The HR team, which had been challenged to donate 25 bags of stock, easily exceeded its target. On 16 May 2011, Prospect Hospice’s shop van called upon the company to collect the highly valuable cargo for distribution in its shops across Swindon.
“We achieved the target easily,” says Ann Fisher from the Zurich HR team, “because so many of the staff here appreciate the work of Prospect Hospice. The target was to give 25 full bags by the end of May, and we had already surpassed that number – in fact we had almost doubled it – by the middle of the month.”
Charly Rich, Prospect Hospice’s head of retail, says: “We are thrilled that the team at Zurich has given so generously in support of our work, and that so many have completed our new look stickers, which means that we can reclaim the tax on the value of the items through Gift Aid. We will quickly ensure that we distribute the stock to our shops across the region, and that the money raised will go towards the care of the patients and families we welcome to the Hospice.”
She added: “We thank everyone at Zurich who has supported the work of Prospect Hospice through generously donating these items to us.”
This team challenge is one of the first challenges completed by staff as part of Zurich Community Trust's 2011 Challenge programme - Zurich’s biggest annual volunteer event. Employee teams get together to complete a one off project which benefits a local voluntary organisation. It’s fun to do and offers managers and staff a great teambuilding opportunity. Last year, staff completed 200 challenges across Zurich locations across the UK.
