Ardonagh Community Trust (ACT), the registered charity of The Ardonagh Group, has reached a milestone in its partnership with Samaritans by raising £100,000 – the equivalent of 20,000 calls for help.
Awareness, education and support for mental health has been an important part of the Trust’s work. Over the course of the partnership, which launched in April 2021 with a generous donation of £25,000, ACT has championed fundraising and volunteering opportunities for staff to get involved with Samaritans across the UK and Ireland.
From fundraising challenges and clever quizzes to innovative schemes and fitness feats, ACT and Ardonagh colleagues have gone above and beyond in demonstrating their clear commitment to mental health and wellbeing, while raising an incredible amount that will help save lives.
Colleagues from across the organisation have come together to help achieve the fantastic total by taking part in a number of events, including Ride4Life, which is an annual challenge for the company. In 2021 the team took part to honour the event’s founder Andy Coles and his friend Damien Natale, who sadly lost their lives while training for the 2020 cycle. Together they clocked up 202 miles and an amazing £25,000 by cycling from Doncaster to London.
More recently colleagues donned their football boots to take part in a charity match against a team of Underwriters from across London. The match raised more than £1,500. Speaking about the event, James Brewing, Director - Energy, Bishopsgate said:
“Support for mental health has and continues to be a huge part of the Ardonagh ethos. It felt like an ideal opportunity to come together across the organisation to proudly support Samaritans in their mission to make sure people feel there is someone there to talk to. The event was a huge success and our colleagues across the business showed an incredible passion to be involved and help raise funds for our charity partner.”
Teams from across the company also took on the challenge of climbing Snowdon, as well as a Tough Mudder, which raised more than £3,700 combined.
ACT colleagues take on Snowdon
During the organisation’s annual employee awards evening recently the Samaritans partnership was celebrated, with the Ride4Life team winning a special recognition award. A Golden Envelope raffle was also held, and in total the evening has raised more than £5,000 so far.
Mental health is a cornerstone cause for ACT. It’s a central part of the Trust and close to the hearts of our colleagues across Ardonagh. It’s been terrific to see colleagues time and time again get behind our partnership with Samaritans – from individuals taking on their own fundraising challenges like the Samarathon, to joining forces to raise funds through events like Ride4Life. We’re delighted to have reached £100,000, in support of Samaritan’s lifesaving work
Sarah James, Communications and Trust Manager at ACT
As well as raising an incredible amount of money for Samaritans, the company has also raised awareness and promoted mental health and wellbeing by sharing tips, tools, and resources to help everyone look after themselves, as well as those around them. More than 60 Mental Health First Aiders and colleagues from across The Ardonagh Group have so far attended and engaged with webinars and education sessions to gain insight into looking after their emotional health.
We continue to live through uncertain times. The world has become, for many, a very worrying place. Anyone at any time, could find themselves in need of emotional support. Samaritans is needed now more than ever. Our volunteers are available 24/7 for anyone who needs someone, but we can’t do it alone. It’s thanks to the phenomenal support from ACT that we can continue to be there for those struggling to cope, any time of day or night. Thank you. We are so grateful.
Alice Firbank, Corporate Account Manager at Samaritans