East Yorkshire storage specialist, Fil – formerly known as Filplastic, has raised more than £15,000 for good causes to celebrate its 25th year in business.
Based near Howden, the company has raised the money over the course of its 25th anniversary year (June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019) and divided the proceedings between a number of local charities.
The figure outstrips the target the business set of raising £12,000 across the 12 months when it embarked upon the charitable push last year.
The business achieved the sum by empowering staff to do whatever they wanted to raise the money, including individual challenges, hosting events and creating things to sell.
Paul Taylor, managing director of Fil, said the whole team rose to the challenge. He said: “Celebrating 25 years in business is significant and I wanted to mark it in a meaningful way.
“I also wanted to make sure everyone in the company could get involved, and that we involved the local community. We’ve been based in Eastrington for many years and a lot of our staff comes from around this area. So, I wanted to give something back to the area, and to the causes people who work here feel strongly about.
“The staff really took the idea on board and ran with it. There was lots of energy and enthusiasm; we’ve had race nights, coffee mornings, tuck shops, bake sales, people doing sporting events and all sorts of other activities. I even managed a sponsored dry January, and for people who know me, they’ll understand how much of a challenge that was!”
The money raised was shared between a range of local causes and one national charity, Dementia UK. Other organisations to benefit include the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Howden Rotary Club, Pocklington and Goole Rugby Union Clubs, Howden and Eastrington shows, Howden Minister, and a local hedgehog sanctuary Pricklington Palace.
Paul said he was very proud of all the staff at Fil, who had gone the extra mile to make the 25th year celebration a huge success.
He claimed: “Raising money for charity has been a brilliant way to celebrate. It has helped the team pull together, produced a significant sum for some very worthy causes and has been a lot of fun along the way. I would seriously recommend any company look for ways to celebrate to give it a go.”
Bob Smailes, regional Fundraising Manager for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said they were delighted Fil had chosen them as a charity to donate to. “They raised a fantastic amount of £1744.60 for our vital lifesaving service,” he said. “We are extremely grateful for their support”.
Paul Reedman, Howden U14’s coach, added: “Thanks to the generous donation from Fil, Howden AFC Under 14s were able to buy a brand-new kit and new training balls for the team. Thank you!”
And Angela Martinson, of the Ashes Playing Field Trust, said the support was very much appreciated. Angela said: “The Ashes Playing Field Trust were delighted when Fil informed us that they were to donate a bench to complete our children’s playpark refurbishment.
As a registered charity having this support was a great boost to what we are able to provide for local families in our park. Thank you, Fil!”
