23 April 2007. The pound coins and pennies are still being counted, but it is estimated that staff at Zurich have raised in excess of £25,000 for Red Nose Day 2007. Zurich staff from Fareham offices raised over £1,500 of that total.
Staff across Zurich’s main offices carried out a range of fundraising activities, from male leg-waxing to guess the baby competition, as well as ‘sponging’ colleagues and Directors. All money raised by staff will be matched by the Zurich Community Trust (giving an estimated total of £25,000).
In Fareham, one of the biggest fundraisers was a sponsored silence by Zurich's Head of Communications, Wendy May who raised a staggering £900 for keeping quiet for once. The sales and service team raised £374 from a sponsored headshave, home baked cake sales and a raffle. And Operations Director, Bruce Hope-MacLellan, was sponsored to wear his kilt throughout the day.
And finally, the Whitely Audit team dressed down and had competitions tying spaghetti and spooning marbles.
In addition to the fundraising carried out by staff, Zurich and Capita joined forces to support Comic Relief to run one of the 150 call centres across the UK, to take phone pledges. Nearly 200 volunteers took over 4000 calls in five hours, resulting in total pledges of £129,000.
Pam Webb, Head of Zurich Community Trust said: “It’s fantastic to once again see so many of our people taking part in Red Nose Day. They really enter into the spirit of the event and have a lot of fun doing the activities, as well as raising a lot of lot of money at the same time, which is clearly the prime objective.
In a note to staff at Zurich, a Comic Relief Spokesman said: “You have all played a huge part in making this campaign a success and I wanted you to know how grateful everyone at Comic Relief is for your continued support and enthusiasm, VERY VERY HUGELY GRATEFUL.
You really are 'ALL' making a difference to so many lives, without your time, enthusiasm, generosity and smiles this would not be possible.
It has been an inspiration working with you all, and I hope you continue to support Comic Relief in years to come'.
For further information, please contact:
Kate Hodges, Communications Manager, Zurich Community Trust
Tel: 01793 503711 / 07708 269653
Notes to Editors:
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Zurich Community Trust (UK) Limited is a registered charity funded by pre-tax profits from Zurich and donations from Zurich’s staff. It provides an
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umbrella for all Zurich’s community involvement in the UK.
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By giving time, money and skills donated from Zurich and its employees in the UK we help disadvantaged people to achieve independence.
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Zurich Community Trust Programmes create sustainable change through long-term funding and active employee involvement. The Trust works closely with innovative partners to make significant impact on the lives of disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas. These programmes tackle drug misuse in families, social exclusion and the most vulnerable older people’s issues. In addition, there is a programme in southern India sharing Zurich business skills to help build capacity of Indian NGO’s. Mental Health and Families is the latest programme as other programmes come to their natural end.
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Zurich Community Trust manages and matches Zurich employees' and financial advisers' £1 million donations, 46,000 hours of volunteering including around 200 team challenges involving 1,600 staff.
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About Zurich
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 55,000 people serving customers in more than 120 countries.
