Ideagen : staff raise over £18k for vulnerable children

The year-long charity effort saw thousands of pounds handed over to Action for Children

Generous employees of Ideagen have raised thousands for a British charity dedicated to looking after vulnerable children.

Staff at the Nottingham-based firm, which has several premises across the United Kingdom, raised £18,621.60 for Action for Children through a series of events and challenges.

A Great British 'Bake Off' event to celebrate the new series of the hit Channel 4 show, a charity cycle ride from Taunton to London and the Robin Hood Marathon were among the highlights of Ideagen's innovative fundraising campaigns launched by the company's internal charity group, 'Making a Difference'.

The company also held a festive fun day of events and quizzes which included one brave member of staff taking part in the 'Hot Chip Challenge'. The challenge, which involved a member of staff eating the world's hottest tortilla chip, raised almost £500 alone and was streamed to Ideagen's offices across the globe.

The effort from Ideagen's staff raised over £9000, with the company doubling that figure for their end of year total.

Rebecca Court, Ideagen's Communications Executive and a charity rep for the company, said she was delighted by the impressive final figure, and by the efforts shown throughout the year by her colleagues.

She added: 'This was a fantastic effort by everyone involved and we are delighted to have raised such a fantastic amount for a great cause.

'Action for Children do some outstanding work to help vulnerable and neglected young people, children and their families across the UK.

'It is pleasing to know that these funds will go a long way to enhancing the quality of life for some of the country's most vulnerable children.'

Jen Pemberton, (pictured above, far right) who headed up Ideagen's Nottingham-based charity efforts, added: 'It was very much a collaborative effort, with everyone getting behind the ideas we were putting forward, and contributing to the sweepstakes, bake sales, and physical challenges when and where they could.'

Action for Children was launched nearly 150 years ago and makes 'real and lasting' differences to the lives of thousands of children across the UK. The charity helps children from pre-birth to early twenties through support services, fostering and adoption and employs over 7,000 staff across 600 services, improving the lives of 370,000 children, teenagers, parents and carers each year.

Kerry Wilson, Community Fundraiser for East Midlands, said: 'We are delighted that Ideagen picked Action for Children to be their chosen charity for 2017. The money they have raised will go towards helping disadvantaged children and their families across the UK. We would like to offer them a huge thank you on behalf of Action for Children.'

Julie Lunt, the charity's Senior Fundraiser for Scotland, was impressed by the company's innovative fundraising ideas adding: 'A huge thanks to the staff of Ideagen for not only choosing Action for Children as their charity of the year but for the innovation and creativity shown in their fundraising ideas.

'The fantastic amount raised will have a hugely positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable children across the United Kingdom.'

Ideagen is one of the fastest growing software companies in the world and recently announced it expects to record its 9^th successive year of growth.

The company employs over 400 staff across its operations in the UK, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia and as part of its corporate strategy chooses a charity to fundraise for each year - with Mind and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) chosen for 2018.

PICTURE CAPTION: Kind-hearted Ideagen staff dug deep during 2017 to raise almost £20k for Children's charity, Action for Children.