IT’S UP and running… the fundraising has begun as the teams embark on their ventures turning £50 into profit for charity in the #Franklins50 Challenge.
From today (Monday February 13), more than 20 teams from organisations across Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire will be spending the next three months growing the £50 into cash for their chosen charity.
And there is still time to enter and join the challenge, say challenge organisers Franklins Solicitors. register at https://www.franklins-sols.co.uk/50-challenge/
The teams have five charities to choose from: in Milton Keynes, MK ACT, MK Food Bank and Willen Hospice. In Northamptonshire, the money raised will go to either Cynthia Spencer Hospice or Northampton Hope Centre.
Andrea Smith, partner and head of business services at Franklins, said: “It’s fantastic to have so many companies on board and there’s still time to sign your team up and help us tackle the local cost-of-living crisis and improve wellbeing.
“It’s a brilliant team-building opportunity and we can’t wait to see what imaginative ways teams come up with to raise some money.”
Among the Milton Keynes-based companies taking part is Nutri Troops, founded by Olympic volleyball player Peter Bakare who represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. He is now a motivational speaker, focusing on inspiring school students across Milton Keynes and beyond, and plans to use the £50 seed funding to design and print promotional materials offering businesses discounted motivational lunchtime talks for their staff.
“I’m so excited to be part of the Franklin’s £50 Challenge to raise money for MK Act,” says Peter pictured right. “They are such a great charity who help hundreds of families in Milton Keynes who are suffering from domestic abuse. Through Nutri Troops, I have helped coach hundreds of children in Milton Keynes and some of them have been from an MK Acts refuge. I have seen the positive impact the charity has had on these families, helping them to find safety away from domestic abuse.”
The team from aluminium and plastics extrusion company BWC Profiles, based at Crownhill, are in training for their fundraising push, running the MK Turing 10K on April 30 and aiming to raise at least £5,000 for MK Act.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” says managing director Danny Varley. “Most of us can barely run 5K let alone 10K but it’s for a great cause and we need a good reason to give up the biscuits and get off our backsides. We hope people will dig deep to help MK Act.”
Cyber security consultancy Provention above in Newport Pagnell has been supporting MK Food Bank for several years. It also sees the challenge as an opportunity for teambuilding.
“We’re going to run a sweepstake and use the £50 seed funding to buy a prize,” says consultant Max Fogg. “We’ve also got some other ideas in the making. It’s great to support a cause helping our local community feed their families in these challenging times.”
The organisations taking poart in this year’s #Franklins50 Challenge are:
- One Four Six
- Syncro Office Technology Ltd
- Travis Perkins
- DBFB
- ACS Office Solutions
- Bluestep Solutions
- Towergate Northampton
- Chartwells Controls Limited
- ACS Recruitment Kettering
- KSN Clothing
- Miller & Chalk
- Franklins Solicitors
- The Hope Centre
- Lambert Smith Hampton
- John Lewis
- Hillier Hopkins
- Halo Resourcing
- BWC Profiles
- Nutri Troops
- Provention
