Pure team kicks off fundraising challenges in aid of bereavement charity Stars

As well as being busy preparing to tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks in May, Pure team members have started holding other fundraising events ahead of this challenge to help raise even more money for the Cambridge-based bereavement charity Stars.

This includes our IT and Projects Manager Nadia Mullins Hills, who having already signed up for the hiking challenge, decided to also take the brave move of a sponsored haircut. Colleagues, friends, and family sponsored Nadia for the radical haircut which took place on 24^th March, adding more funds to the growing pot already being collected for Stars ahead of the Three Peaks event itself in May. Nadia has also supported another fantastic charity through the sponsored haircut, with the 12 inches of hair she had cut off being donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides real-hair wigs free of charge to children and young adults who have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses.

Nadia said: “A sponsored haircut is something I had been considering for a while, and this fundraising mission gave me the incentive to finally take the plunge. It was scary to have so much hair cut off in one go, although I just kept reminding myself that luckily my hair grows quickly! Thankfully I really like my new look, and I’m delighted to have been able to support two charities by doing it.”

Caroline Batchelor, Director at Pure, who organised the Three Peaks Challenge as part of Pure’s continued support of Stars, is also holding a charity night on Saturday (7th April) and has asked friends and family to donate money to the charity instead of buying her birthday presents later this month.

To date, the Pure team has already raised £1,470 towards its £5,000 target, ahead of the main Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge itself which takes place next month. A team of fifteen people from Pure will be setting off from the Cambridge office on Friday 11 May to begin the fundraising mission of walking the three mountains, a total of 23 miles, in 12 hours.

Caroline said: “The money raised from this challenge will make such a difference to young people’s lives. Our team goal is to raise as much as we can, so no donation is too big or too small as every bit will help this amazing cause. Everyone will experience bereavement during their life, but for young people, the death of a parent or another important person in their lives can be extremely difficult to deal with. Stars provide much-needed support and counseling for young people facing grief, giving them support from someone outside of the family and a chance to express their difficult emotions. It is entirely reliant on fundraising to deliver these services free of charge to families suffering from a devastating loss.”

As well as Caroline and Nadia, the Pure Three Peaks team includes Ben Farrow, David Culley, Caroline Meeson, Annette Wyld, Angel Huizar, Tom Earl, Ian Walters, Ellie Steinfeldt, Viktoriya Vladimirova. The team is also joined by Christina Youell, Director at People & Performance, the strategic HR consultancy which works in partnership with Pure to deliver the Women’s Leadership Programme, and mindfulness and wellbeing coach Louise Lloyd, a regular guest speaker at Pure events. 

Pure has supported Stars through a variety of different fundraising initiatives over the last few years including its last two annual Cambridge charity quiz nights, which together raised over £3,925 for the charity.

For more information about Stars visit: http://talktostars.org.uk or to donate to the Pure team’s fundraising click here