Opus Energy's employees aim to the beat credit crunch by pledging £10,000 for local hospice

Opus Energy, the Northampton based electricity supplier to UK businesses, has pledged to raise £10,000 for their local Northamptonshire hospice through a variety of quirky and innovative fundraising initiatives.

As belts are tightening across the UK, Opus Energy’s Northampton office has become a hive of creativity to help galvanise fundraising for their new nominated charity, the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice. Set up in 1990, the charity raises funds for the Cynthia Spencer Hospice, which is a specialist health service for people whose illness is no longer curable. Money goes directly to patient care: employing additional staff, buying medical equipment, facilities and patient comforts.

Over the course of this year, Opus Energy employees will stage a number of fundraising activities to help raise their £10,000 total pledge for the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice. Activities began in April with an office-based Easter fundraising day which raised over £500 and will range through to larger challenges for individuals and teams such as the New York marathon and a football competition.

Opus Energy staff are also pooling resources to beat the credit crunch and raise funds by:
• Arranging charity music, comedy and quiz nights at local pubs
• Running the Great North and Great South Runs
• Organising an inter-departmental football competition

Kerry Poulter, Marketing Specialist at Opus Energy said: “The fundraising pledge gives our employees the drive and opportunity to achieve a personal goal, push themselves to their limits or even just wear a silly outfit and have fun. Last year, Opus supported four team members, including myself, who took part in the New York marathon. It was a huge personal achievement for each of us and together we raised over £7000 for charity.

“We are touched by the work the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice does in the local area - a lot of our employees have a connection with the charity. It’s vital that we continue to support local causes even when times are lean. We encourage our teams to think creatively to continue to capture people’s attention, raise awareness and raise money despite the downturn.”

Opus Energy employees are also taking part in an “It’s a knock out” event in June, and will be joined by local teams from Barclaycard, Royal Mail, Northamptonshire Police and Coca Cola.

Susan Bownass, community fundraiser for the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice, said: “Without the generosity and support of the people of Northampton and local companies the valuable work of the Hospice simply could not continue. Donations help the Hospice to provide first class medical care and the best possible equipment to ensure patients' comfort at the most difficult time of their lives. We very much encourage people to have fun when raising funds for the Hospice. Fundraising activities are an excellent way of helping the community engage in the important work that their local charities do.”

About the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice

The Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice is a registered charity and was formed in 1990 by a few individuals; all of whom had come into contact with the Hospice when their respective husbands, wives and close family members had been patients. The Hospice’s continued existence is largely due to fundraising events, donations and sponsorship. The three main aims of the charity are:
• To raise funds to help with the provision of items which are not available via the N.H.S and to buy those much-needed extras for our patients
• To give support to the medical staff and patients in any way possible
• To promote awareness of the hospice in the local community

About Opus Energy

Opus Energy is a leading independent supplier of electricity to UK businesses. With offices in Northampton and Oxford, it employs 200 people.

Opus Energy supplies 50,000 UK business sites across all sectors. Large customers include: Stagecoach, Thorntons, Farmfoods, FirstGroup, Cumbria County Council and Deloitte & Touche.

Over the last two years (between April 2006 and March 2008), over 60% of the energy supplied by Opus Energy to its customers came from cleaner, low-carbon sources – 54% from renewable generators and 8% from cleaner Combined Heat and Power (CHP) produced by CHP generators. These CHP generators have been awarded accreditation by the regulator, Ofgem, for producing cleaner, more environmentally friendly power.

For further information about Opus Energy, please see www.opusenergy.com or http://opusenergychallenge.com

Opus Energy
2 Summerhouse Road
Northampton
NN3 6BJ

Tel: 0845 330 2655
Email: contactus@opusenergy.com

This release was published on openPR.