Braving sub-zero temperatures and rain, over 100 childcare workers from the award-winning, employee-owned Childbase Partnership ‘slept rough’ to help raise £12,000 for us.

Tom & Jess from the Children Today team brave the cold on the sponsored sleep-out.

Armed with sleeping bags our Corporate Fundraising Coordinator Tom Williams and Volunteer Fundraising Co-ordinator Jessica Chiverton-Stanway joined the nursery and head office teams outside the company’s Newport Pagnell Headquarters praising them for adopting the charity for a year-long fund-raising drive.

Tom Williams comments: “We have been astounded by the generosity of Childbase and wanted to mark our partnership by taking part in this special event. As our charity relies on voluntary donations, support like this is vital to our work in helping improve the quality of life for many children and young people with disabilities and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole Childbase team for their amazing efforts.”

Emerging from sleeping bags on flattened cardboard boxes following one of the coldest nights of the year, the fund-raisers from Childbase Partnership day nurseries throughout the South of England said the challenge had also highlighted the plight of the homeless at this time of the year.

Some of the Childbase fundraisers.

Oliver Baucutt, Team Leader at the Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ Meadow View Day Nursery in Newport Pagnell said everybody was determined to complete the challenge in aid of such a worthy cause.

“We are surrounded by happy, healthy and confident children every day and were all really shocked to learn that young people who need specialised equipment to improve the quality of their lives are dependent on this charity. The equipment they need, like ventilation machines for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers, is not always provided by the NHS,” he said.

Mike Thompson, CEO of Childbase Partnership, Employee Owned Business of the Year and a UK National Champion in the European Business Awards, praised the fund-raisers at the start and end of the challenge.

“My colleagues never fail to amaze me in how far they will go in pursuit of various challenges and their support for worthy causes. Over 100 people from every area of our company – directors, managers, practitioners and administrators – turned up for a sandwich, a cup of soup and a night sleeping on cardboard in our car park. The sacrifices made have resulted in £12,000 so far for Children Today and the total keeps rising. That is impressive,” he said.

Thank you to the Childbase team! If you would like to organise your own corporate fundraising event in aid of Children Today please contact us on 01244 335622.