Chandler Material Supplies takes its support to the next level!

Sadly COVID-19 dramatically affected what fundraising activities could take place, but the company didn’t let this bring their fundraising to a complete halt. Instead, its marketing team got creative and opted for fundraising methods that didn’t involve face to face contact.

Chandler Material Supplies had planned to raise money via its regular supplier trade mornings, which had proved a successful way of raising money in previous years. But, trade mornings were unable to take place due to COVID-19 restrictions, so the company had to look at other fundraising options to help the hospice continue to provide care and support for people affected by life-limiting illness across mid Essex.

The team at Chandlers decided that a raffle would be the best approach during a time when face to face gatherings were not possible. The ideal virtual option, the raffle featured a range of great prizes donated by the company, with the top prize being a luxurious digital shower. Raffle tickets cost £1 and a grand total of £1,488 was raised.

Managing Director, Julie Chandler said: “As a business it is important to us to give back to our local community. A number of our staff have friends and loved ones who have used Farleigh’s services. We are passionate about doing as much as we can to raise awareness of the hospice and the services it provides in the local community. In 2020 we decided to take our support one step further, making Farleigh our charity of the year. Going forward we plan to continue our support for Farleigh Hospice throughout 2021 and beyond, in whatever way we can.”

Prior to selecting Farleigh as charity of the year in 2020, the company was an active supporter of the hospice. In addition to raising money at its monthly trade days, Chandler Material Supplies has also previously hosted fun events like the ‘Farleigh £50 Challenge’ which challenged the company to turn £50 into as much as possible, by whatever means legal!

Chandler Material Supplies also helps Farleigh Hospice put on its annual Christmas tree recycling service, providing two or three lorries along with staff volunteers. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic meant that the 2020 collections had to be cancelled, but lots of money was still raised as people kindly donated the cost of collection of their trees even though collections couldn’t take place. In addition to this support, Chandlers also generously donated the materials for the refurbishment of the Farleigh courtyard which took place in early January 2021.

Deborah de Boltz, fundraising manager at Farleigh Hospice said: “We are so thankful for all of the support Chandler Material Supplies has given us over the years. Our Christmas tree recycling initiative couldn’t take place without their help and thanks to the kind donation of materials, our courtyard now looks amazing- we are incredibly grateful to them for providing the supplies to Abery Trade Services who carried out the refurbishment. Despite the restrictions presented by the pandemic, they did a wonderful job of fundraising for us in 2020 and we’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone at the company. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our local community and the continuous support of businesses like Chandlers.”

Chandler Material Supplies works very closely with Chelmsford Lions Club, supporting their fundraising efforts each year. Every Christmas Chandlers provide assistance to the Lions Club with the Santa Sleigh event to help raise vital funds for Farleigh and other local charities.

If your company is interested in choosing Farleigh Hospice as your charity of the year please contact Michelle Martin, Farleigh Hospice Corporate Fundraiser on: 01245 457396 or email: Michelle.Martin@farleighhospice.org

Alternatively visit www.farleighhospice.org/fundraise to find how you can start fundraising for Farleigh Hospice and help support people in our community affected by a life-limiting illness or bereavement.

For more information about the Chelmsford Lions Club visit www.chelmsfordlionsclub.org.uk