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Smith & Williamson’s Guildford office raises £2,600 for Guildford Action

17th March 2021

Smith & Williamson’s Guildford office has raised more than £2,600 for its charity partner, Guildford Action, since September through a number of fundraising activities.

Guildford Action provides a safe refuge for people who have fallen through the net, or out of everyday society. By providing basic essentials and healthcare, it helps reconnect them with their communities and recover their identity and sense of belonging.

Since the start of its support last September, the Smith & Williamson Guildford office has partaken in numerous remote fundraising activities, including: a fantasy Six Nations sweepstake, a virtual quiz night, an advent calendar collection and ‘Spare change for local change’, where staff donated their spare change accumulated each month from lockdown.

In addition, an initiative called ‘Night on the Tiles’ alone raised £1,604 for Guildford Action. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event involved sleeping on a hard floor for a night, either in gardens or inside. Those who braved sleeping outside felt temperatures drop between 5°C and -1°C. Claire Perrett, tax partner in Guildford commented “The activity served as an important reminder of how lucky we are to be able to walk indoors, have a hot drink, step into a shower or to simply put on dry clothes. Many people who are sleeping rough don’t have these luxuries.”

In the run-up to Christmas, the fundraising volunteer group organised an electronic advent calendar activity, which saw employees donating a different essential item each day. The target was to gather three items per day, such as shampoo, torches, toothbrushes, small radios, cleaning supplies and clothing. The office successfully hit their target for all 24 days. The current fundraising activity in the run up to Easter involves staff pledging the value of the items they are giving up for Lent to the charity.

Jo Tester, Chief Executive of Guildford Action, said: “We have been overwhelmed with all the support from the wonderful staff at Smith & Williamson in Guildford. The team who slept out for us raised more than 50% of the total and really embraced the whole event, despite the cold! As a medium sized charity, we always need funds, but equally we need the donations of toiletries and essential items too. This year has been tough and we anticipate it won’t get any easier. Knowing we have support from all those at Smith & Williamson is so appreciated and we look forward to the coming year where hopefully we can do even more together. Thank you all, you have been fantastic.”

Maggie Lowe, Guildford’s Head of Office commented: “With charities facing huge challenges due to the pandemic, be it problems fundraising or an increased demand for services, we must remember how fortunate many of us are. As an office, we are keen be involved in bettering the lives of those who are struggling in our local communities. We are grateful to the support of our staff and look forward to continuing our support of Guildford Action’s valuable work.”

Find out more about Guildford Action at its website: https://www.guildfordaction.org.uk/