Charity Fundraising at Devant
You know how sometimes, just as you’re drifting off to sleep, a really good idea pops into your head?
Over the Christmas hols, that happened to me. It occurred to me, late one night, that 2016 was going to be a Leap Year, and that this meant we would get a whole extra day, for free.
Then I started wondering what I could do to make that extra day really count for something, and that’s when the real brainwave occurred. I decided that I’d give it away to raise money for LaunchPad – and not just my extra day, but the whole Devant consulting team!
What’s LaunchPad?
LaunchPad is a homeless charity based in Reading, Berkshire. Started by some Reading University students over 20 years ago, it offers accommodation, support, training and a genuine fresh start to those unfortunate enough to find themselves homeless. Homelessness happens to ordinary people (even those with a good job, a happy marriage and a nice house!) either as a result of some bad choices, or just a run of bad luck. Redundancy, divorce, loss of a loved one, mental health issues – you’d be surprised how many people become homeless from apparently secure starting points. And that’s not even thinking about the youngsters who might have got in with the wrong crowd, and maybe don’t have the family support to keep them on the right path.
So I hope you’ll agree that LaunchPad is a brilliant cause to support with our Leap Year ‘bonus day’.
You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this… well, rather than giving our time to decorate a community facility, or make soup, I figured LaunchPad would benefit much more if we could offer them cash. Ideally, quite a lot of cash. This is where you come in. No, we’re not asking you to sponsor us for climbing a mountain, abseiling down a building or swimming the channel. We’re offering you (and anyone else you know!) the chance to buy a member of the Devant consulting team for a whole 8-hour day on the 29th February, for a bargain price!What’s in it for you?
You get to benefit from the skills and experience of a fantastic commercial contracting consultant for a fraction of the usual cost. You might choose to have a day of in-house training from me, a data protection workshop with Marion, or any of the huge range of things the Devant team can do for you.
And you have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re contributing to a truly valuable charity, making a positive difference to hundreds of lives.
How does it work?
We’ve set up an online auction using Jumblebee, an online charity auction site that only takes 5% commission (the lowest we found). You can take a look at the packages on offer, and place your bids here. All the details are on the auction site, so have a nose around and see what you think! Bidding closes on Friday 19th February, to give us time to organise logistics to deliver your auction package on Monday 29th February, and agree exactly what you’d like from us.
How else can you help?
Well, you can share the details with as many people as possible through social media, to get as many bids for our Leap Day as possible and maximise the money we raise. You can tweet about it here, share on Facebook here and LinkedIn here!
If your business does something that’s sold by the hour, maybe you’d consider setting up your own Leap Year Charity Auction for LaunchPad? (Or the charity of your choice, but LaunchPad would be a brilliant choice, obviously…) Let me know if you’d like to give it a go, and I’d be delighted to share details of how we’ve gone about it.
Thanks so much for even thinking about bidding for us on the Devant Leap Year Charity Auction. And remember – there’s bound to be a bit of competition amongst the Devant team to see who can raise the most money. So bid for me!!!
Tiffany
