Zicam begins Charity Support Initiative
25 Oct 2021
Zicam begins Charity Support Initiative
There are many reasons businesses should support charities. There’s brand reputation; if you demonstrate that you support a charity you show that you are a trustworthy and principled organisation. There’s also PR; everybody loves a good news story and having a close relationship with a charity can definitely benefit both parties in terms of raising profiles!
But for us it’s about team building and giving back (and because we all think it’s just the right thing to do).
We’re quite a close-knit team anyway, but one of the aspects of our new charity support initiative we’re most looking forward to is getting together and brainstorming how we can fundraise. Everyone has different ideas about this and some of the days we have planned should be great for us as a team and will raise much needed funds for our chosen charities.
The kick-off
This month we officially launched our charity support programme. We’ve always enjoyed sponsoring people and groups who are trying to raise money (and we’ll continue to do that), but we decided to make it official and select three charities so we can put the might of our fundraising efforts into really making a difference to the people who these amazing organisations help. We’re also looking forward to raising awareness for them through our activities.
The programme was initiated by our CEO, Milan Mazić, who has always been driven to offer assistance where he can. From young, up-and-coming sports people to mental health facilities, they’ve all benefited from sponsorship. It seemed only natural to make it official and start fundraising for charity!
Our administrator, Elaine Haddleton, has also been instrumental in setting up one of our charity events and that’s ‘Wear it Pink’ – in support of a fundraising group that raises money for breast cancer research and care. And it happened on Friday 22nd October! We encouraged everyone to show their support and wear something pink for the day, whether top-to-toe in the pinkest garment of choice, or just a pair of bright pink socks – lots of the team took part, and we were proud to raise a grand total of £242 so far, with CEO Milan Mazic kindly offering to match the donations.
Drum roll please…and the charities are…
I’m very pleased to announce that our official chosen charities are:
About Breast Cancer UK
This charity has been around for 20 years this year after first being registered in 2001. It’s aim is to raise awareness about the prevention of breast cancer through education and research. In the UK a staggering 55,000 women and 390 men are diagnosed each year with breast cancer, but around a quarter could be prevented by making lifestyle changes. This is where that valuable (and potentially lifesaving) education comes in. We’re hoping to make a regular contribution to this charity’s vital research so this disease can be prevented.
About Prostate Cancer UK
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK and this charity was set up in 1996 to improve the care and welfare of men affected by this disease, to increase awareness of its effects and to raise funds to invest in research. Since 1996, this charity has invested more than £37 million in research! We are looking forward to taking part in Prostate Cancer UK’s campaigns and backing its continued research.
About Mental Health Foundation
Mental health seems like such a modern issue, but I was surprised to discover that Mental Health Foundation has been around since 1949. This charity has been working to identify mental health problems by finding the sources of them and then focusing on what can be done to prevent them. As with our other chosen charities, poor mental health can affect any one of us, so we’re pledging our commitment here to support this charity where we can.
It’s so difficult to choose a charity to support because everyone has their own experiences and their own concerns, but I feel that we’ll all be happy to make a positive contribution to our three charities. I’m definitely looking forward to getting some fundraising events and campaigns in the Zicam calendar!
Donna Doughty, Office Manager and Director, Zicam Integrated Security Limited
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