NAPIT Group Chief Executive, Mike Andrews, looks back at the efforts this year from Team NAPIT and reflects on the assortment of charity events that the company have been involved in throughout the year

2019 has been a significant year for NAPIT, the acquisition of Stroma has presented staff with new challenges, nevertheless they have taken this in their stride and have still made time to ensure that we do our bit for some very important charities.

Red Nose Day was first on Team NAPIT’s agenda for charity events this year and as many of you will know it is an organisation that continuously strives to create a world free from poverty. On the 14th March all staff donated £1 to wear red items of clothing and we raised a total of £75, all proceeds went straight to Comic Relief and everyone succeeded in painting the office red! If you were an attendee at the ELEX Show at Event City Manchester in March, you may have spotted that our staff there, including myself, were also sporting a red nose for the occasion.

Our next fundraising day took place at Easter, when we decided to support a charity much closer to home. On this occasion we raised a total of £233.57, which was donated to Autism East Midlands. There was an assortment of homemade cakes and freshly cooked traditional hot cross buns on sale for staff to buy. A fantastic day was had by all. We raised a great amount… and managed to expand a few waistbands in the process too.

Our annual endurance event this year was slightly different to challenges we have taken on over the last couple of years. On Sunday 4th August, NAPIT took part in the Nottingham Riverside Festival Dragon Boat Race. This time our chosen charity was Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, they are dedicated to offering support for sick children and their families. Rainbows provides specialist respite, vital care and support for families whose lives are impacted by life-limiting conditions. We couldn’t think of a more deserving charity for this year’s event and knowing that the donations were going to such a worthwhile cause made everyone that little bit more enthusiastic.

Over 30 NAPIT employees, including partners from NAPIT Drive and NAPIT Insurance, took time out of their weekend to part in the race. I would like to thank each one of them for participating and for the effort involved. NAPIT spirit was in the air on the day as many more of the team came down to support those involved, cheering on from the slide-lines.

Unfortunately, we weren’t crowned winners on the day, although we did have some excellent races and managed to raise a total of £1,788.30. I’m sure the rest of the team will agree that we had great fun and the aches and pains the next day were worth it for such a worthy cause.

In September, NAPIT held a summer charity event for all staff and business partners from NAPIT Insurance to raise money for one of our members, Matt Carter. Matt, an electrician from Bakewell, fell from a ladder while on a job in December last year. This fall was only 5 feet, but he landed on his head causing life changing injuries.

The theme of the event was “Don’t worry be hippie” and the events committee pulled out all the stops to make sure the day was full of great activities and prizes to be won. We started the event with a team building session of laughing yoga to get everyone connected and in high spirits. Staff then all paid a small fee to take part in activities including tarot card reading and henna tattoos, as well as getting a chance to win on the tombola and raffle. The raffle gave employees the chance to win amazing prices including two paintballing vouchers worth £300, two Valley Railway vouchers, two vouchers for family access into Darwin Forest in Matlock as well as Thornton’s chocolates and five 1 day’s annual leave. NAPIT staff raised an impressive £561.70 on the day with all proceeds going to Matt and his family.

Since the accident Matt’s family and friends have had to fight for him to receive the care he needs. He was initially unable to live at home, and after some difficult months, gained a place at a residential intensive rehabilitation centre. Happily, in September, Matt was able to return home and although there are still many changes ahead, at least Matt is now back with his wife and children. The team and I could not think of a more deserving cause to raise money for this summer. On behalf of everyone here at NAPIT I would like to wish Matt a speedy recovery.

Every year there is an astounding effort from all the staff at NAPIT when it comes to fundraising for charity and this year was no exception. Our last couple of events at the time of writing was our Macmillan Coffee Morning and a day of activities for Children in Need. This brings us to a grand total of £3,672.39!

In addition to the various charity events we have held throughout the year, we also made the decision to utilise our staff and the services we provide by helping a local organisation renovate a previously derelict building, as part of a DIY SOS style project. We chose the OASIS Community Centre based in Worksop, East Midlands. The charity, established in 2008, already supports the local area in a variety of ways, but needed additional spaces to provide support for men of all ages through the ‘Men on the Edge’ project. Our work started in July and since then a variety of staff have helped clean the grounds, extend and refit the kitchen and paint the building. We believe that in total approximately £20,000 has been put into this project, which includes generous donations from various external businesses and the time that staff have given. Although this is very much on ongoing project, I believe an excellent start has been made and I look forward to visiting once the centre is open.

I am proud of all the staff at NAPIT who have contributed their time and effort this year to raise money which makes a real difference to all chosen charities.