Following their yearly employee poll, Hazlewoods has named Severn Freewheelers as their charity of the year for 2020/21, receiving an outstanding 52% of the vote.
Severn Freewheelers provides a free out-of-hours courier service for hospitals across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, North Wiltshire, and Herefordshire, carrying blood, pathology samples, patient scans/x-rays, human milk and other medical essentials.
The experienced volunteer motorcycle riders all hold an advanced riding qualification and work from 7.00pm to 7.00am during the week and all day at weekends and public holidays.
Understandably, the service cannot run without the support of its members, volunteers and fundraisers, and with it costing on average £14,000 to run a bike for the year, the fundraising is vital for the service to continue.
With COVID-19 driving many organisations to make changes, Severn Freewheelers has extended their service to run 24/7 during the pandemic. Furthermore, they are now collecting and delivering prescriptions to people’s homes to reduce the burden on pharmacies, highlighting the need for fundraising support more than ever.
Hazlewoods has had a very positive few years with their fundraising efforts; in 2019, the business celebrated its centenary year by raising a fantastic £121,171 for Maggie’s centre in Cheltenham.
In 2020 employees will continue to rise to the challenge and look for ways to raise money for Severn Freewheelers.
Andy Harris, Partner and Chair of the Social Committee at Hazlewoods said “We are so pleased to have Severn Freewheelers as our charity of the year this year. 2019 was a very special year for our centenary and everyone worked so hard to raise such a fantastic amount.
“Although the outlook for this year is different, our employees are already coming up with innovative ways to continue our fundraising efforts and we are proud to be supporting a charity that works hard for our local hospitals and NHS.”
Tim Kidwell, at Severn Freewheelers added, “We are delighted to have the support of Hazlewoods having been chosen as their charity of the year. We need around £70,000 per annum to run the service and we estimate that this saves the NHS in excess of £450,000, so any support we receive really is helping to save lives.”