Member Article

Hampshire housebuilder employees compete against colleagues to donate £14,000 to two charities

Staff working at Barratt Homes across the country have swapped their boots for trainers for a special charity competition, and the team from Hampshire finished 2nd on the leader board.

Employees from 30 of the leading housebuilder’s regions have been clocking up running and cycling miles in a countrywide ‘relay’ competition to raise money for the Prince’s Trust. A company-wide fundraiser for the well-known youth charity, the teams finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were also rewarded with a £15,000, £10,000, and £5,000 prize to donate to a charity of their choice.

The 4-week competition was scored using a point-based system whereby each division was awarded points for distance travelled and amount raised. Barratt’s Southampton Division, which covers Hampshire, Dorset, and the Isle of Wight, finished in 2nd place, only just behind Cambridgeshire.

The determined team covered an impressive 2624.70km and raised £4,052 for the Prince’s Trust.

And, having been awarded Silver for their second-place finish, Barratt Southampton also received £10,000 from the developer to donate to their chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.

One of the Barratt employees taking part in the challenge sadly lost her mum to cancer, so Macmillan was the team’s obvious choice.

Sara Wrona, Barratt Homes Technical Trainee, said: “This has been a brilliant thing to be a part of, and knowing we were raising money for the Prince’s Trust, spurred us all on.

“To also give £10,000 to Macmillan is just incredible, especially as the cause is so close to our hearts. I’ve just lost my mum to cancer and Macmillan was an amazing support for our whole family.”

Leah Hunt, Barratt Homes Customer Care Office Manager, also logged her miles for the relay competition. She too was extremely happy to be able to pass on the team’s second-place winnings on to Macmillan, after the cancer support charity also helped her mum after a terminal cancer diagnosis.

She added: “When we heard we’d won 2nd place and had £10,000 to award to a charity, I really wanted the money to go to Macmillan. My mum was also diagnosed with terminal cancer and the charity was a wonderful support. Fortunately for us, my mum is now in remission, but as we hear from my colleague Sara about her mum too, it goes to show just how many people the disease can affect. Without the services of charities like Macmillan, we would have been lost and we wanted to show our appreciation with this generous lump sum.”

Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer.

The Prince’s Trust helps young people aged 11 to 30 get into jobs, education, and training. It has helped 1,000,000 to date and supports more and more each day.

Altogether, teams from Barratt divisions across the country raised a total of £16,327 for the Prince’s Trust and donated an extra £30,000 to other charities.

Barratt Southampton’s Division is bringing homes to Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. It is committed to supporting local causes which improve the quality of life for those living in the region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Barratt Homes .