Our support for our strategic charity partner The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme (DofE) was celebrated at a recent event in London. The event was held to celebrate the companies and individuals who had fundraised for the charity in 2018. Monies raised for the charity will provide more young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the chance to start a DofE program, and build their confidence and resilience to navigate life’s challenges.
At the event we were acknowledged for our support of the 50km DofE Adventure, which took place in September. The two-day hike across the Cotswolds saw an unprecedented 84 Amey employees take part raising over £11,000 for the charity. David Fawcett, Amey’s Social Value Manager, picked up the certificate celebrating the company’s involvement, saying: “The DofE Adventure was our biggest ever single fundraising event and I was delighted with our team’s wholehearted enthusiasm and commitment. Once again this demonstrates what wonderful people we have across Amey.”
There were 850 hikers in total for the DofE Adventure. Our own Helen Conway, Project Manager, Consulting and Rail, was the largest individual fundraiser, raising over £1600! Helen was awarded a special certificate for her incredible fundraising effort. Helen commented “It was a wonderful surprise to be acknowledged for my fundraising. I am very grateful to everyone who sponsored me. The DofE Adventure was such a fun event and gave me the opportunity to meet lots of people from across Amey as well as well as support this fantastic charity.”
Also acknowledged at the event was Sarah Stevenson who took part in the DofE Challenge with colleague Nick Russell. Sarah, an engineering apprentice in Scotland, supported a project at an orphanage in the Maasai Mara community in Kenya by helping erect fences, advise on an extension of the orphanage, teach in a local school and take part in a culture exchange for the Maasai community. Sarah said “The DofE Challenge provided Nick and I with a once in a lifetime opportunity to support a local community in Kenya. I was so pleased to be invited to the thank you event and hear about all the wonderful work the DofE are delivering for young people across the UK.” Sarah and Nick are now planning to take part in the 2019 DofE Adventure which takes place in September.