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Yorkshire business professionals use skills to help Sue Ryder Care

20 February 2008

Four Yorkshire based business professionals have combined their skills and joined forces with healthcare charity Sue Ryder Care to form ‘The Yorkshire Committee’.

The committee’s primary objective is to organise large scale events to raise funds for the four Sue Ryder Care care centres in Yorkshire: two hospices, Manorlands in Keighley and Wheatfields in Leeds, and two neurological care centres, Hickleton Hall near Doncaster and Holme Hall near York.

Four professionals, Anne Salisbury, Business Development Consultant, Susan Brown, former manager at GE Money, Lee Readman, Leeds company director of ‘One Life’ recruitment and marketing, Andy Tompkins, former project director for HBOS, now professional musician, are donating their time and utilising their many years of experience to engage local Yorkshire businesses in bringing financial gain for Sue Ryder Care.

The committee has already made great progress in planning its first major event, a charity dinner dance at York Racecourse on Saturday 12 April and it’s all set to be a major date in the Yorkshire social calendar!

Susan, Lee, Anne and Andy recognised that family and friends have all been affected by life changing or life shortening illnesses of one sort or another and therefore chose to support Sue Ryder Care.

Anne, Chair of the Yorkshire Committee, said: “I think the services provided by Sue Ryder Care are superb, both in the neurological care centres and the hospices. My father died in March at a hospice in Leicester, not a Sue Ryder Care one, but I saw first hand the difference being in a hospice made both to him and the family. Knowing he was being well cared for by staff and volunteers that really wanted to help both him and my mother made a difficult time so much easier.

When I first started volunteering at Sue Ryder Care- Holme Hall I could see first hand what difference Sue Ryder Care makes to people living with complex conditions. It promotes independence and choice so that people in its care can achieve their maximum potential”.

The four professionals are supported by the Yorkshire based Sue Ryder Care Fundraisers Jackie Sedgwick, Jodie Shepherd, Els Tompkins and Hannah Walker who make up the other half of the The Yorkshire Committee.

Els Tompkins praised the efforts of Susan, Lee, Anne and Andy as it is vital to generate new fundraising ideas and events to help the charity continue in its work. Els said “I believe it is the first time that Sue Ryder Care fundraising managers have worked as equal partners with Yorkshire based business professionals, who have taken their social responsibility to heart and given their time freely. I am thrilled with the enthusiasm and progress of the committee who are able to leverage their corporate business network for a worthwhile cause”.

Sue Ryder Care's neurological care centres specialise in helping people who live with a range of neurological conditions including acquired brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, cerebral palsy, stroke and Parkinson's disease.

Sue Ryder Care's hospices provide palliative care for people living with cancer and other complex conditions through its day therapy unit, inpatient unit and its homecare services. All of the centres aim to meet the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of all people, providing pain relief and long-term bereavement counseling to families and friends.

“We really want to raise awareness of Sue Ryder Care particularly within the local business community; this event will appeal to businesses as well as our private supporters. Companies can use the occasion to entertain their customers or suppliers, as a team incentive or to celebrate the end of a good financial year”, Els added.

The Sue Ryder Care Charity Ball is at the luxurious Voltigeur Suite, York Racecourse, Saturday 12 April 2008. It includes a magnificent four course gourmet dinner, tables are available from £550 to £1,500 with Champagne, Platinum and Gold packages. Champagne table includes 8 bottles of champagne, jug of orange juice, complimentary liqueurs with desert, logo printed on correspondence and material and publicity throughout the event, full page advert in the complimentary souvenir brochure, priority packages available in 2009; platinum – 2 bottles of champagne, 2 bottles of red, 2 bottles of white, half page advert in the complementary souvenir brochure. Guests will be entertained by the excellent rock band ‘Mid Life Crisis’, no strangers to events at York Racecourse and there will be fun activities throughout with wonderful prizes. Guests will also have the chance to purchase unique artworks form local artists through a silent auction.

If you would like to receive more information or book a table please contact Jackie Sedgwick on 01904 426920 or email Jackie.sedgwick@suerydercare.org or Els Tompkins on 01430 860904 or email els.tompkins@suerydercare.org

Find out about the work of the Yorkshire Committee visit www.yorkshirecomittee-suerydercare.org

Information on the committee’s members:

Susan Brown: Formally a board member of GE Money with 20 years experience within ‘blue chip’ Financial Services organizations, now focuses her efforts on ‘It’s about giving back’ volunteering for cancer and children charities utilising her skills in change management, programme management across Operations, Learning & Development, HR and IT.

"I’m really enjoying the challenge of The Yorkshire Committee for Sue Ryder Care and organising the inaugural Charity Ball for the Yorkshire area, knowing the monies raised will go directly to local needs."

Lee Readman: MD of One Life Total Solutions his own HR and recruitment business. Lee has extensive knowledge within this sector having worked for numerous large global organisations across retail and finance for over 15 years.

“It is great to be working along side like minded business professionals utilising our varied skill set for the benefit of the 4 Sue Ryder Care centres across Yorkshire. It is great to know that One Life Total Solutions will be a sponsor at the charity ball and I want Sue Ryder Care to benefit from my extensive business network”

Anne Salisbury: Anne is a freelance business development consultant, working for the corporate ventures company, Acceleris plc. Acceleris source equity finance for young companies primarily through a national network of private investors. Anne is also on the management team of Venturefest Yorkshire which is a large business exhibition held in York each February, aimed at helping young science and technology companies to grow successfully.

“I am pleased to be able to help as the services provided by Sue Ryder Care are superb. I have an excellent network of professional contacts and hope to encourage these contacts to support the work of The Yorkshire Committee”

Andy Tompkins: Formally Andy was Managing Director of Soliton Systems, a consultancy firm specialising in managing very large scale telecommunications projects and he has over 30 years experience in this field. Prior to this, Andy was a professional musician working as a London session guitarist and recorded the score and appeared in the original version of the cult movie, "The Wicker Man". He has now returned to music full time, but is relishing the chance to help support the activities of The Yorkshire Committee.

"A visit to a Sue Ryder Care Centre is guaranteed to help put one's own relatively trivial problems very firmly in perspective. It is a privilege to have been asked to help the Yorkshire Committee raise funds for the Yorkshire-based Sue Ryder Care Centres."

 

 

 

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