Raising funds the charity deserves

John Cameron, senior branch manager of Ward & Partners Loose office, has been busy not only selling homes but raising funds for Action Medical Research since 2013. John has taken on three triathlons and has organised a race night and football tournament, all to raise money for a cause very close to the local dad’s heart… 

I first became aware of Action Medical Research and the work they do back in 2013 during a manager’s meeting at work. We were given some literature about Action Medical Research and told that the charity would be our chosen charity for the year.

At the time, my wife was pregnant with my daughter, Sophie, and there was an immediate connection between the work that Action do and the support that unbeknown to me they were giving to my unborn daughter: just that morning, my wife had taken her daily dose of folic acid, the ultrasound that we had taken for granted the week before and the assurances that it had given us. 

Having weighed a little under 20 stone at my heaviest, I was going through a weight loss programme to help me get fit and healthy, the company’s idea of taking part in the Blenheim Triathlon in 2013 (from a selfish point of view) also gave me a target and a goal to work towards while doing something for someone else.

After my first Blenheim Triathlon, I subsequently entered in 2014 and 2015 for the same event.

In 2014, I felt that I had to do something different to raise funds as simply asking people to donate and sponsor was not generating the income that I felt the charity deserved.  So I came up with the idea of hosting a race night. It was a fantastic evening full of fun and laughter. We also had some items donated from local companies which we raffled or auctioned off.

In 2013, we raised £300 for Action Medical Research, in 2014 we raised £1,500 (between my office and another who helped with the race night) and in 2015, I raised over £500.

I love the fact that I am doing something fun and doing something useful at the same time. I also enjoy that it gives me a goal and a target to work towards.

2016 has seen me create the inaugural Arun Cup, a football tournament that will see some of Arun's residential brands (Ward & Partners, Cubitt & West and Douglas Allen) compete against each other! We have managed to bag the Gallagher Stadium in Maidstone for the day on Sunday, 3 July, get discounted shirts from Kappa and various sponsors on board too. So far, minus deductions we have raised £1,500! It is hoped that we will see many spectators turn up too from all over the company. We are trying to get some celebrities to come along on the day too.

For more information on Ward & Partners’ ongoing support for Action, please visit action.org.uk/support-us/company-support/action-partners/current-partners/ward-partners