Dozens of committed Michael Page Sales employees raised over £5,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK when they descended on Nottingham for a day in an Apprentice-style fundraising contest. Taking inspiration from the popular BBC show, 11 teams from Michael Page Sales – part of specialist recruitment company PageGroup – were challenged to raise as much as they could for the UK’s leading dementia research charity on Friday (10 Oct), through whatever means they could think of. The 70 staff members from offices across the UK came up with some innovative ways of raising the funds, ranging from car washing to collecting unwanted clothes to exchange for cash.The group’s efforts were part of an ongoing programme of fundraising by Michael Page employees, which began when the company selected Alzheimer’s Research UK for a two-year charity partnership last year. Over the course of two years, staff aim to raise £200,000 to support two Research Scholarships, bringing two bright researchers into the dementia research field on PhD programmes.For the event, each team was formed of staff from different offices around the UK. Teams were challenged to raise at least £250 each and given 10 days to plan their fundraising activity. The staff rose to the challenge with some creative ideas – one team went out busking in Nottingham city centre, another collected prizes to raffle and offered a bag packing service in local shops, while another completed a triathlon in a hotel gym in exchange for sponsorship. Other teams held bucket collections, washed cars or offered their services setting up equipment for Nottingham’s upcoming Survival of the Fittest event. Meanwhile the winning team had an ingeniously simple idea, raising £1,000 by asking their colleagues to put £10 into a pot for a chance of winning 50% of the total collected.Michael Page Sales Manager Louise Shepherd, who helped organise the event, said: “Each year our staff are encouraged to do something for a good cause for a day, and because Alzheimer’s Research UK is our charity partner we really wanted to do something to support dementia research. In the past we’ve raised money through sponsorship, but we wanted to use the day to try something different, and this was a fantastic way of getting everyone together. The day took a lot of organising but it was really good fun and it was definitely worthwhile, especially when we realised we’d absolutely smashed our £3,000 target.”Miranda Johnson, Head of Community and Corporate Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “What an incredible result! It’s fantastic to see so many Michael Page staff getting involved in fundraising in such creative ways, and we can’t thank them enough for their support. The money they’ve raised is helping to support two new dementia scientists as they seek to answer important research questions, making an enormous difference to our work.“There are nearly 11,000 people living with dementia in Nottinghamshire alone, yet we lack treatments that can stop the diseases that cause dementia. At Alzheimer’s Research UK we rely on donations to be able to fund our research, and it’s thanks to supporters like the staff at Michael Page that we can continue our work.”To learn more about corporate partnerships with Alzheimer’s Research UK, email corporate@alzheimersresearchuk.org or call 0300 111 5 555.
