Eight charities based in Milton Keynes and Northampton are set to benefit from an Apprentice-style fundraising challenge, organised by Franklins Solicitors LLP.

Willen Hospice, MK Act, Cynthia Spencer Hospice and the Hope Centre have once again been selected to benefit from the challenge and four new charities – Harry’s Rainbow, YMCA, The Lewis Foundation and Northamptonshire Community Foundation – have been chosen to gain valuable funds from the challenge in 2024.

The challenge sees each participating team receive an initial £50 seed funding from Franklins. Each team then has three months to turn the £50 seed funding into substantial funds for their chosen charity however they choose – anything from bake sales to barbecues, auctions, car washes and more.

Since it began in 2018, the Franklins £50 Challenge has raised more than £100,000 for local charities, showcasing the potential for collective efforts to bring about meaningful transformation. The 2024 challenge will run from February to May with the underlying aim of fighting hunger, fuelling wellness and changing local lives.

Lorraine Devereux, Fundraising Manager for YMCA, said: “YMCA are thrilled to have been selected for the Franklins £50 Challenge. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to connect with our local community to support young people both here in Milton Keynes and in Northampton where we will be launching a supported housing service for young care leavers in 2024. We are up for the challenge and looking forward to rallying our local community to get behind YMCA and help raise funds and awareness for all the great work that we do.”

Odette Mould MBE, CEO of Harry’s Rainbow, said: “I have seen so much about the Franklins £50 challenge over the years, with some amazing companies and individuals getting involved, to support many charities across MK and Northampton. I’m so delighted that we have been chosen to be supported through this ingenious initiative, to raise both awareness and funds.”

Dean Jones, Head of Giving and Development at Northamptonshire Community Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as one of the designated charities for 2024. Our campaign to shine a spotlight on Rural Community Needs was launched in June 2023. We know from our research that there are people within Northamptonshire’s rural communities who are experiencing rising levels of homelessness, social isolation, the burden of meeting the rising costs of everyday costs fuel or food and the choice at times of whether to heat their homes or feed their families.”

Lorraine Lewis, CEO of The Lewis Foundation, said: “It was fantastic news to hear that we had been selected to be one of the chosen charities for Franklin’s £50 Challenge. More than ever, due to the cost of living crisis, the people who are diagnosed with cancer who we support in hospital are struggling to afford the basic essentials they need, in addition to home comforts. This challenge will be a fantastic opportunity for businesses to work together and think outside the box to raise awareness and funds to support those within our community who need help.”

Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins Solicitors, said: “We’re excited to be working with eight local charities who do amazing work in our communities and rely on public support to help make this happen. We hope to see as many local businesses as possible signing up to take part for 2024. As well as raising money to help make a positive impact in the local community, it’s a fantastic opportunity for teambuilding, getting creative and having fun.”

Franklins is encouraging companies and organisations to sign up to take part in the 2024 £50 Challenge. To register as a team visit: www.franklins50.co.uk

Cynthia Spencer logowillen hospice logoMK Act logoNorthampton Hope Centre Logo

ymca logo for the franklins 50the lewis foundation logo for the franklins 50harrys rainbow logo for the franklins 50Northamptonshire community foundation logo for the franklins 50

 

Over twenty businesses so far from across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes have signed up for the #Franklins50 challenge and will turn £50 seed funding from Franklins Solicitors LLP into as much money as possible over three months for five local charities – Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Northampton Hope Centre, MK Act, Willen Hospice and MK Food Bank.

The challenge runs from February 13th until May 12th and will see teams testing their business acumen to the max, participating teams are coming up with a range of activities to turn £50 into as much money as possible for their chosen charity. From selling hand-cut leaves and portrait photography, to abseiling down the Northampton Lift Tower and putting colleagues in wet sponge stocks, nothing is off the table as long as it’s safe and legal!

Northampton based companies taking part include:

Andrea Smith , Partner at Franklins Solicitors LLP, said:

“It’s fantastic to have so many companies on board and there’s still time to sign your team up and help us tackle the local cost-of-living crisis and improve wellbeing. It’s a brilliant team-building opportunity and we can’t wait to see what imaginative ways teams come up with to raise some money.”

About some of the teams taking part for the first time:

Nutri Troops was founded by Olympic Volleyball Player Peter Bakare who represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. He is currently a motivational speaker, focusing on inspiring school students across Milton Keynes and beyond. Peter will use the £50 seed funding to design and print promotional materials to offer Milton Keynes’ businesses discounted motivational lunchtime talks for their staff.

Nutri Troops CEO Peter Bakare said:

“I’m so excited to be part of the Franklin’s £50 Challenge to raise money for MK Act. They are such a great charity who help hundreds of families in Milton Keynes who are suffering from domestic abuse. Through Nutri Troops, I have helped coach hundreds of children in Milton Keynes and some of them have been from an MK Acts refuge. I have seen the positive impact the charity has had on these families, helping them to find safety away from domestic abuse, so I would love the opportunity to raise money for MK Act.”

Milton Keynes-based aluminium and plastics extrusion company, BWC Profiles, are entering a team that will run the MK Turing 10K on 30 April to raise money for MK Act.

Danny Varley, BWC Profiles Managing Director, said:

“We’ve never done anything like this before. Most of us can barely run 5K let alone 10K but it’s for a great cause and we need a good reason to give up the biscuits and get off our backsides. We hope to raise at least £5,000 for a brilliant charity that supports those that have suffered domestic abuse so we hope people will dig deep to help MK ACT.”  

Cyber security consultancy, Provention, has been supporting MK Food Bank for several years and says the #Franklins50 challenge is show their support and team-build at the same time.

Max Fogg, cyber security consultant, explained:

“We’re going to run a sweepstake and use the £50 seed funding to buy a prize and we’ve also got some other ideas in the making. It’s great to support a cause helping our local community feed their families in these challenging times.”

Syncro Office Technology Ltd, Co-Founder, Stuart Mildren, said:

“We actively seek opportunities for our team to engage in local, fun, community activities so signing up to the Franklins £50 challenge was a really simple decision. We are supporting Cynthia Spencer Hospice as we’ve seen first-hand the hard work and care that takes place from all of the Cynthia Spencer volunteers and staff – they are a credit to our community.

We’re using the £50 seed funding to hire a local professional photographer in a high-quality setting to provide professional portrait photos which we will sell at a heavily discounted price/ donation of £25.00 per person.”