Corporate Support
Quest4Change believe that corporate partnerships can be enormously beneficial for all parties involved - giving our projects a real lift, and giving your company and employees the opportunity to be involved in something truly worthwhile, whilst boosting the company's Corporate Social Responsibility credentials.
There are many ways for businesses to be involved with Quest4Change, from fundraising and donating items needed by the projects, through to sending a team to work on the ground on one of the projects we support.
Donations
Quest4Change welcomes any and all donations, whether of items of back stock or branded stationery, or of financial help All items donated for overseas, provided they are suitable, will be sent directly overseas to where they are most needed.
Fundraising
Whether your company wants to walk up a mountain or organise a dance night like this, Quest4Change will support you to achieve your own goals and with your fundraising.
BRIGHTON HALF MARATHON CORPORATE CHARITY CHALLENGE
The Brighton Half Marathon takes place on 19th February 2012. The
Corporate Charity Challenge Trophy will be awarded to the business that
collectively raises the most funds for their chosen charity. It's
an opportunity to showcase your business, promote teamwork and improve fitness. More than this, it's a way for your business
to make a real difference to people's lives by raising funds for Quest4Change.
We will support your fundraising and publicity, including sending out press releases to local and national press. Read on for how you can get involved...
Is your business up to the challenge of a lifetime?
CORPORATE EXPEDITIONS
Why not build a school in Tanzania? Help care for endangered animals in South America. Build a Sand Dam which will provide clean drinking water to entire communities in Kenya. Whatever your business, we have a project that needs your support. Make a difference with Quest4Change.
The concept of community benefit to benefit business is something that we actively promote. These days, the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility is playing a prominent role in sustainable business enterprise. A corporate trip with Quest to help in the continuation of worthwhile projects in South America and Africa provides benefits that are far-reaching for both the community and for the volunteers.
CORPORATE
PARTNERSHIPS
Towers Watson / Scott Wilson Group /
Burgess Hill Town FC / RBS / Rampant Sporting / Vodafone Foundation
The staff at Towers Watson (previously Watson Wyatt) have shown incredible support for our work in the shanty town of Villa Maria, Peru. The money they have donated and raised, most notably over £3,500 raised by one cake sale will make a huge difference to the lives of the some of the poorest people in the world. Staff at Towers Watson then built on this support by raising another £3,000+ for this project at an excellent Salsa night.
Quest4Change have been working in Villa Maria for 15 years now, over that time we have spent every summer providing hundreds of children with cultural and recreational activities, keeping them off of the streets and away from the harmful drug and crime culture. We have purchased, renovated and kitted out a pre-school in the community and are now involved in the construction of basic homes for some of the poorest families.
Towers Watson became involved with our Villa Maria project after the tragic death of a former volunteer on the project, Katie Ashbridge. Katie was a volunteer in Villa Maria in 2000 and went on to work at Towers Watson after university.
The money raised by this phenomenal fundraising event will go towards a literacy program for the community and will also be used to buy a much needed photocopier for the school. Our huge thanks go to Andrew Long and the whole team at Towers Watson whose fantastic generosity is helping us make a difference.
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In June 2008 Royal Bank of Scotland staff raised nearly £20,000 to help build a maternity clinic for the Pen Sulo community, Malawi. Two teams of over twenty volunteers travelled out to Malawi to spend four weeks working with locals to build the clinic, and they did a magnifcent job, completing the structure from the foundations to the roof - no mean feat with a 200 square meter building!
The clinic now serves members of the local community, who had very limited access to health care facilities. The clinic has provided a base for health workers and doctors from the District Health Office to run Family Planning clinics, HIV/AIDS clinics, Ante-Natal Clinics and a Children's clinic.
The finished clinic building:
Volunteer voice: "We have made fantastic progress. It is so motivating when you see the results of a hard day's work."
Why did we
build this clinic with RBS?
Malawi is
one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the latest World Bank
figures, it has a life expectancy of 38.8 years and nearly 20 percent of
children die before their fifth birthday. AIDS is the main cause of death for
those between 20 and 40 - the disease causing around a quarter of the deaths in
that age group.
According to a 1998 survey, 65 percent of the population were living below the
poverty line. Today, it is estimated that up to seven million people may be on
the edge of famine and that between 100 and 150 people are dying from
starvation each day
There is just 1 doctor for every 62,000 people - in the UK the ratio is 1:2000.
The benefits of building the clinic -
Immediate benefits: The clinic provides regular access to health care for communities for over 1,000 people in the Pen Sulo district
Expected benefits over medium term: Increase in the health of children and members of the communities. Mortality rate of children should fall over time. More children carrying on to secondary education and able to support their families
Expected
over longer-term due to improved education:
Better health in the community
Improved local economy
Better opportunities for local children and their families.
***
In 2008 the Scott Wilson Group built a school for 200 children in Tofo Mozambique, not only did they fund the project with a £25,000 donation, but 43 members of their staff volunteered a month of their time to build the school - incredible!
Before:
Tofo desperately needed school facilities. The children were studying on a dusty cement floor with grass walls. They had no desks, chairs, books, bags or pens. The Scott Wilson group decided they could make a difference - through improving the educational environment and giving them a school they can be proud of. They worked alongside local people for their children's future, whilst also providing a building available for community facilities outside the school hours.
The building work begins:
Why the Scott Wilson Group got involved
"This project will give me the opportunity to spend a complete month in an area that will allow me to experience its culture and life style not just as a tourist." Jack Symmons.
"This is a brilliant opportunity to make a tangible difference in an area that requires a facility." Diane Riley.
This project, for around £100 a child didn't just give the gift of education, it gave these children the opportunity to raise themselves and their families out of poverty, giving hope to an entire community.
The finished school
***
After receiving a very generous donation of 5 full sets of Burgess Hill Town Football Club shirts at the end of last year we are exciting to announce that following an initial meeting with Garry and Gary at BHTFC in November 2009 numerous ideas have emerged and hopefully over the years a strong collaboration between BHTFC and Quest4Change will be established to the benefit of both parties.
The official shirt handover:
Pictured (left to right) Gary (BHTFC) Jon and Simon (Quest Overseas) and Heather (Quest4Change)
The shirts will be heading out to our Children's project in the shanty town of Villa Maria, Peru, where they will benefit local adult teams who are currently forming a league.
They've flown over 6,320 miles, have survived baggage reclaim and cancelled flights, but the Burgess Hill Town Football Club shirts have finally made it to Villa Mara, Peru, to be handed over to by Quest volunteers. The shirts went on to be worn by the Villa Maria team to destroy the English volunteers' team in a suitably embarrassing game of football.
The official handover:
Quest4Change has been working with the Juan Velasco community in Villa Maria since 1999, their demon football team is made up of kids who we've worked with over the years and parents of many of the kids at the Quest school in Villa Maria. Once again our thanks go out to the fabulous Burgess Hill Town Football Club for their support and for donating five full football kits. As you can see from the picture below, in Villa Maria they start them on their football young, I wonder if we can find any shirts that will fit baby Manuel?
The Juan Velasco Team:
***
Recently we received a very generous gift of back stock and second hand clothing from former Quest Leader Ted and friends at Rampant Sporting. Their donation will soon be shipping its way over to our projects in Africa and South America where it will be distributed to those most in need. Watch this space for pics of some particularly stylishly dressed kids.
In the countries we work, clothes donations are of great help, as the winter months can drop to freezing and many in the communities do not have sufficient clothing. Sadly those most at risk are the young and elderly. Quest guarantees that all respectable clothes donations go direct to the communities we work with; children's clothes are of primary importance.
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In 2010, Heather Rayment, our hard working Fundraising Development Manager won a grant from the Vodafone Foundation to work full time for Quest4Change for 2 months at no cost to the Charity. This kind of support was invaluable to us as a small charity. Heather conributed enormously to Quest4Change's development, working hard on numerous projects, attending training days in London - the experience has been invaluable for both her and the charity.
