The BG teams are slowly getting ready for the challenge ahead. Plenty of participants have stepped up the exercise regime; people are cycling into work, spending plenty of time in the gym and are seen running along the Thames Towpath during their lunchtimes.
The fundraising challenge has already been won; all nine BG teams are able to pledge at least £5,000. Most teams will be able to raise a little more than the target, with some aiming to double the team figure to £10,000.
In terms of fundraising activities, the team have been very inventive this year. The BG North West Africa team organised a night at the dogs. Over 120 people went to the Reading dog stadium and raised almost £3,000 by running a raffle, asking people to sponsor individual races and dogs and "taking" a share of the winnings! Staff attending spoke of a great night out!
The IM team raised £1,100 by sitting in a bath full of Tesco's finest baked beans during a busy Friday lunchtime. The idea came from a colleague who typed "fundraising ideas" into Google and found the baked bean challenge. We were stupid enough to actually take her up on it! It was certainly worth the effort but not something I'd repeat in a hurry...
Another fantastic fundraiser – which has been very successful in previous years - is the portal auction. We had over 50 lots this year, ranging from PC games to a signed Reading FC football shirt, glider flight and tickets for football games, theatre, fashion shows and the last night of the proms. The auction raised over £5,000!
The HSSE has also been hard at work washing and shining our cars in BG Group’s car park!
Our final fundraising event will be at the BG Summer ball where we will be selling tickets for the grand raffle. Over 1,500 tickets have sold already, probably helped by the great prizes in store amongst which are flights, an Xbox and iPod as well as an opportunity to have tea at the Ritz!
I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all supporters. The BG People have been great and very generous. I would also like to extend this thank you to our partner companies and suppliers who have been excellent and this has certainly helped to push the overall total up.
As far as the actual challenge is concerned - we're looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather will improve a little. I also hope the midges in Stirling will be kind to us!
|
