New Challenge for Merchant Trainees to double CHUF Donation

Builder’s merchants, JT Dove, has been avid supporters of CHUF (Children’s Heart Unit Fund) for over five years now and the latest donation has pushed their donations over the £100,000 total mark.

It has also opened up an amazing opportunity for four merchant trainees to put business practice into action while raising funds for such a worthy charity.

The trainees, Amy King (23), Jess Flynn (21), Adam Marriott (23) and Shaun Liddle (19 joined JT Dove MD Steve Robinson, to donate the latest cheque for £28538.66 to CHUF’s Michelle Fortune. However, not ones to rest on their laurels, the four trainees have now decided they can do even better and have accepted to be part of CHUF’s Champions Challenge. The funds to date have been raised by branch personnel across the North with around 150 staff taking part in activities like running marathons, washing vans, sponsored walks and one team member, James Gillespie, raised £750 by having his body waxed in the store in Hawick!

Encouraged and supported by Steve Robinson, the four merchant trainees will now be leading the new challenge. Working closely with the branch managers, they will be pulling together a strategy to present to CHUF in June on how they intend to raise a further £100,000 in the next 18 months – doubling the donations to date!

Robinson explained further, “Next year is our 150^th anniversary and as a company we want to do something good for a worthy cause. Our four trainees have shown a huge interest in the fundraising side of the business so it seems perfect to tie the two together and enter the CHUF Champions Challenge.  This will see us pitted against some of the best fundraisers so we will have our work cut out.

“It presented a perfect opportunity to challenge the trainees to create a strategic business plan on how they can raise so much money in such a short time, and then to actually execute it. Supported by the rest of the company, they will be learning great business management skills as well doing something positive for such a worthy cause. ”

The trainees fundraising will be given a helping hand with three corporate events that are being organised to mark the 150^th anniversary. These include a customer race day in April, a family fun day in June and a supplier dinner in November. All three events expect to be well attended with over 300 people at each so according to Steve are perfect to raise a good chunk of the new target.

Michelle Fortune from CHUF said, “As a charity in and at the heart of the North East, this kind of corporate support is invaluable to us. The CHUF Champions Challenge is going to be a lot of fun with hopefully a huge amount of money being raised to help children supported by the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital and 6 other district hospitals in the region. Thank you to JT Dove for their support so far and we look forward to the coming 18 months immensely.”