As headline Sponsors of the SME MK and Buckinghamshire Business Awards, Franklins Solicitors LLP were delighted to host the Winner’s Circle, an event dedicated to Gold and Silver winners of the 2022 SME Awards. The event was held on the premises of MacIntyre, the chosen charity partner for the Awards.

MacIntyre organised welcome drinks and a delicious buffet lunch, prepared by their dedicated catering team.

Damian Cummins, Awards Director, welcomed the guests and then handed over to Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins. As a judge on the awards panel, Andrea recognised the high caliber of the award entries and congratulated the guests on their achievements.

Andrea also took the opportunity to talk about MK Food Reach, a project set-up in partnership with HIS Church Charity. MK Food Reach is a campaign where businesses and individuals can provide much needed support to people struggling with food poverty in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas. You can find out more here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mk-food-reach .

The event ended with a raffle, with the proceeds going to MacIntyre towards their excellent work to support people with learning disabilities.

It was a fantastic finish to the awards and we wish all the businesses that are going through to the SME National Business Awards later this year the best of luck.

MK Food Reach, an initiative to support local people affected by food poverty, has delivered its first artic lorry load of items to MK Food Bank and Baby Basics.

Food bank delivery

Jonathan Hambleton, Managing Partner Freeths MK and Ruth Short, Legal Secretary

The lorry contained 26 pallets of essential food and supplies, worth an estimated retail value of £52,000.

Speaking about the donation, Louisa Hobbs at MK Food Bank said:

“This delivery has arrived at a perfect time for us. We have found that as the cost of living has gone up, donations have dropped. MK Food bank helps around 450 people a week with food parcels. We also distribute food to other charities who support homeless people and the elderly. Initiatives such as MK Food Reach are so helpful and allow us to continue tackling local food poverty. We thank all the businesses who have kindly donated so far.”

The MK Food Reach campaign was originally set up to help tackle rising food poverty resulting from the cost of living crisis. With an increase in families who are affected and fewer food donations from the general public, local food banks are struggling to keep up with demand.

MK Food Reach is a fundraising platform where businesses can donate money to help facilitate the delivery food pallets to charities in MK. The funds are sent directly to HIS Church, a food redistribution charity. For every £10,000 raised, an artic lorry load containing 26 pallets of food and essential supplies will be distributed to local charities in and around Milton Keynes.
Business who kindly donated to the first MK food Reach delivery include Cawleys, Freeths Solicitors LLP, Mazars, and 42 Consulting.

As well as making a generous donation, Cawleys kindly provided a lorry and driver to transport the goods from Lincolnshire to Milton Keynes. Anna Cawley, Strategy and Communications Director at Cawleys said:

“At Cawleys we have always believed it is important to support the local community. We know that MK Food Bank will be able to help hundreds of people with this donation and we’re delighted to get involved. I hope that other businesses will also show their support to continue this initiative in the future.”

Jonathan Hambleton, Managing Partner at Freeths Solicitors said:

“When I was approached and asked to consider supporting MK Food Reach I immediately knew that this was an initiative that Freeths should support. MK is a thriving business community, and Freeths is very much part of this, but life in MK is not easy for everyone at the moment. Freeths are pleased to be able to support MK Food Reach to deliver food to those who need it now. In addition to financial support, I was delighted that a number of Freeths’ staff have volunteered to work to support Food Reach —demonstrating a real commitment to the local community.”

MK Food Reach needs the support of the local business community to be able to continue delivering much needed food supplies to tackle food poverty in MK. To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mk-food-reach 

Franklins Solicitors LLP has donated pallets with essential food and supplies worth a retail value of £20,000 to eight food banks across Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. The pallets will provide food and essential items to hundreds of local families living in poverty.

As sponsors of the SME Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire Business Awards, Franklins had the opportunity to provide promotional giveaways to guests at the awards. Rather than do this, they took the decision to invest in food pallets to help struggling adults and children. In partnership with His Church, a food redistribution charity, during May and June they delivered pallets to the following local charities:

Aylesbury Vineyard Church, One Nation, One Can Trust, Baby Basics, MK Food Bank, Milton Keynes Community Fridge, The Bus Shelter MK and MK Melting Pot.

The charities were delighted to receive the food pallets and explained the difference they would make. Melanie Lewis from Baby Basics, one of the charities who received a donation commented:

‘This really is an absolutely perfect donation for us. Thank you to Franklins Solicitors and His Church. Long may they continue being able to support the people who need us.’

Speaking about the decision to donate food pallets instead of corporate giveaways, Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins Solicitors said:

‘The cost of living crisis has affected everyone, especially lower income families. We wanted to play our part in making a difference and decided the money we would have invested into corporate giveaways would be better spent on supplies to help feed our local communities.”

Richard Humphrey, Director of Operations at His Church Charity explained more about the difference the donations have made:

‘We were absolutely delighted when Franklins decided to mark their 40th Anniversary celebrations by making a contribution towards the admin and logistics costs associated with our charitable redistributions. This generous donation enabled His Church to distribute over 10,000 meals to vulnerable people in the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire areas. Kudos to Franklins for reallocating a budget for corporate giveaways, in order to give meaningful support to the local community, this is truly commendable social responsibility and I hope their example will inspire other businesses to follow suit.’

As a result of this initiative, MK Food Reach has been set up to offer ongoing support to help with the local food crisis. Every time £10,000 is raised – enough to fill an artic lorry with 26 pallets of food (retail value of approximately £52,000) a lorry will bring the much needed food to the City for distribution. To get involved, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mk-food-reach  or email mkfoodreach@outlook.com

Franklins Solicitors LLP is excited to announce the launch of £40 Accumulator Challenge. The challenge invites teams to take an initial investment of £40 and perform fundraising activities to turn it into more money. Teams can choose to donate the proceeds to one of three local charities: Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Willen Hospice or MacIntyre. The challenge will run for 8 weeks from 3rd May – 28th June.

Speaking about the initiative, Simon Long, Managing Partner said: ‘We’ve chosen £40 because this year is our 40 year anniversary. The challenge has been designed to benefit three very deserving local charities and we look forward to seeing what ideas the teams come up with.’

Fundraising ideas are unlimited but ideas include:

• Bake off
• Afternoon tea
• Office tuck shop
• Wine tasting
• Sponsored walk
• Quiz night
• Office bingo
• Guess the number of items in a jar
• Workplace treasure hunt
• Wear casual clothes to work
• Car washing
• Hair cut or beard shaving
• Jubilee party

To enter a team, email marketing@franklins-sols.co.uk with your contact details and we’ll be in touch to arrange delivery of your £40 investment.

Franklins Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce that their recent 40 Mile Challenge has raised £2741.25. The challenge was created to mark our 40th anniversary and participants were invited to do 40 miles of physical exercise over 40 days and raise a minimum of £40 each. The funds will be shared between local charities Willen Hospice , Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Macintyre. The challenge ran between 24th January – 13th March.

Challengers were able to complete their 40 miles through their choice of physical exercise. As well as traditional methods such as walking, running and cycling, some of the more unusual ways people chose to achieve this were through Zumba and skiing!

Rosanna Stimson, Marketing Manager at Franklins commented: ‘There was a real buzz around the challenge. We received lots of feedback from people who told us that it had encouraged them to get out and about on lunch breaks and use it as an opportunity to have walking meetings instead of sitting in an office.’

 Nigel Birch, Head of Marketing for Willen Hospice said: Congratulations to Franklins Solicitors LLP on their 40th Anniversary! It’s a great initiative to have organised the 40 mile challenge for their milestone year, and we’re thrilled that they have used the opportunity to make a difference to their local community. We have been privileged to work with Franklins Solicitors over many years and are grateful that they nominated us to benefit from their hugely successful 40 mile challenge. To the participants who pledged and the people who supported them – a massive thank you.”

 Also speaking about the challenge, Nina Gandy, Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser from Cynthia Spencer Hospice commented: ‘A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the 40 mile challenge and to the team at Franklins for coming up with such a great initiative too. Virtual challenges like this are still a fantastic way for participants to support good causes like Cynthia Spencer Hospice so that we can continue to care for patients and their families too. These challenges also bring teams together, as well as being great for wellbeing and mental health!’

Claire Kennedy, Head of Marketing  & Fundraising for MacIntyre added: ‘A big thank you to Franklins Solicitors for organising the Franklins 40 Mile Challenge, which proved to be a great way to get us out every day!  Every penny raised will benefit the children, young people and adults we support in the Milton Keynes area.‘

If you’d like to further support the challenge, you can still donate via this page: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/franklins-40-mile-challenge .

Macintyre has also set up a dedicated fundraising page https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Franklins40MileChallengeForMacIntyre .

Franklins team from left to right – Simon Bannister, Minal Patel, Rosanna Stimson, Emma Taylor, Holly Threlfall and Justin Wilson.

This year is our 40th anniversary so we decided to start the year than with a challenge that marks the occasion, promotes health and fitness and raises money for some great local charities! Please join us as we embark on the Franklins 40 Mile Challenge.

 

What is the Franklins 40 Mile Challenge?

The challenge invites you to complete a distance of 40 miles of  physical exercise over 40 days. The type of exercise you do to achieve this is entirely up to you. You could run, walk, swim, cycle, dance, rock climb or do a combination of different exercises.  You might decide to do a mile a day or less frequent, longer distances – you can choose whatever works with your lifestyle.

 

When is the 40 Mile Challenge?

The challenge will run for 40 days, starting Tuesday 1st February 2022 and finishing 13th March 2022. However, you can join at any time during this period, as long as you’ve completed your 40 miles by the final date.

 

How much money do I need to raise?

In keeping with the 40 theme, we ask that each person taking part pledges to raise a very achievable minimum of £40 for their chosen charity.

The funds raised will be shared between three amazing following local charities:

• Willen Hospice: As the only adult care hospice in Milton Keynes, Willen hospice is run by local people for local people, delivering calm, compassionate care. They give patients who are coming to the end of their lives, specialist care in a friendly, peaceful environment, helping them and their loved ones to really make the most of their time left together.

• Cynthia Spencer Hospice: Provides specialist palliative care services for South Northamptonshire. They provide inpatient care, outpatient services, Wellbeing services, Hospice@Home, lymphoedema service and palliative care clinical nurse specialist service. They have two specialist Consultants in palliative medicine, a team of doctors and specialist nurses working within the Hospice and the community as well as in Northampton General Hospital and Danetre Hospital in Daventry.

• MacIntyre: Provides learning, support and care for more than 1,200 children, young people and adults who have a learning disability and / or autism.

 

How do I take part?

If you’d like to take part, it’s simple:

  1. Email marketing@franklins-sols.co.uk to let us know you’re taking part.
  2. Spread the word and invite your family, friends and colleagues to sponsor you via this link.

Alternatively you can set up your own fundraising page if you would prefer the full amount to go to one charity. You can ask sponsors to mention your name in their message of support when they donate.

  1. Email marketing@franklins-sols.co.uk to let us know once you’ve completed the challenge and how you did it. We’ll be looking out for the most unusual way of achieving the 40 miles and the most money raised.

Sharing your progress

Please share any photos on your social media channels using the hashtag #40MileChallenge . Good luck!

Between September and November, Franklins sponsored the £45 Accumulator Challenge to raise money for the Cynthia Spencer charity. This is where participating businesses take an initial investment of £45 and find ways to raise more money.

Participating businesses included Travis Perkins, Kilby Fox, Towergate Insurance Brokers, Chartwell Controls, Robyn Allen Solutions Ltd, Ballyhoo PR, Primark and Kingsley Roofing Services.

Fundraising activities ranged from cake baking to car washes to bingo to beard shaving! This was more challenging than in previous years because many people have been working remotely and there have been fewer gatherings.

In total, a brilliant £3,869.06 was raised. To put it into context, this could fund all of the following:

·         20 visits to a patient from a hospice at home nurse.

·         5 full days of care for one patient in the inpatient unit.

·         Resources for one child to start creating a memory box to remember a loved one.

·         Counselling session for a patient or their loved one to support them at a challenging time.

Thank you to everyone who took part and to the Cynthia Spencer fundraising team for organising. We look forward to getting involved with some more fundraising events next year!

As Franklins Solicitors LLP celebrates its 40th anniversary year, I am sad to announce the retirement of two of our equity partners – Helen Taylor and Sarah Canning. They retire after 23 years and 29 years respectively at the Firm. Their retirement from the Firm will be from 31 October 2021.

Helen joined the Firm having made the transition from a specialist child care barrister to become a solicitor. She built up the family department and within it a child care division. After the firm withdrew from legal aid work, Helen went on to establish one of the most highly accredited and successful teams of private client lawyers in the region.

After joining the firm as a trainee solicitor, Sarah began her career supporting clients in their recovery of compensation following serious spinal and head injuries. She went on to concentrate on civil and commercial litigation and was awarded Solicitor of the Year by Northamptonshire Law Society for her work with businesses locally.

Helen and Sarah have been highly valued colleagues and we would like to thank them for the significant contribution they have made over their combined 52 years and I am sure you will join myself and the remaining Partners in wishing them all the best for the future.

Whilst Helen and Sarah will undoubtedly be missed, their client work will be transferred within the Firm’s established and respected teams ensuring a smooth transition and maintaining the highest levels of service that the Firm’s clients have come to expect.

This financial year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Firm, which goes from strength to strength having enjoyed a record year despite the global pandemic. The remaining equity partners are looking forward to the year ahead as the Firm continues to be recognised as one of the most accredited and prominent law firms in the region.

We look forward to continuing to work with our clients and contacts during this exciting forthcoming year and please feel free to contact me should you have any queries or would like to discuss any opportunities arising to work with us.

 

Cynthia Spencer Hospice is challenging local businesses to take part in the £45 Accumulator Challenge sponsored by Franklins Solicitors LLP, and raise as much money for charity as possible from an initial investment of £45.

Corporate partnerships fundraiser at the hospice, Nina Gandy said: “Our £45 Accumulator Challenge starts on 6th September and during its 8 week run, gives businesses the opportunity to have fun and fundraise at the same time. Previous participants have raised money through team-building and networking events and have come up with many creative ways to grow their start-up so we’re hoping to see some great ideas, particularly now businesses are able to network and their staff are able to return to the office.

“We’re hoping the teams who have signed up this year will come up with even more ingenious ways to fundraise for our patients and their families while maximising opportunities for their own businesses too. We’ll provide plenty of collection buckets and branded items and of course we’re on hand with fundraising tips as well as providing PR coverage for the teams taking part so the sky’s the limit really!”

One team taking part in this fundraising challenge for the first time is Ballyhoo PR. Director Emma Speirs commented: “We’re really excited to be taking part in the £45 challenge to celebrate 45 years of Cynthia Spencer Hospice and raise funds for the charity at the same time. We wanted to take part to show our support for the hospice and also to be a part of something taking the local business community by storm!

“We are looking forward to working together as a team and putting our creativity and entrepreneurial skills to the test to see how we can grow our £45 into even more money for this fantastic hospice.”

Andrea Smith, Partner & Head of Business Services at Franklins Solicitors LLP, said: “Franklins are delighted to be sponsoring Cynthia Spencer Hospice’s £45 Accumulator Challenge. For 45 years, Cynthia Spencer Hospice has provided invaluable physical, psychological, social and spiritual support to the local community in Northamptonshire and after an immensely tough year, we’re proud to be supporting the hospice to help them continue to provide this much needed care.

We hope that local businesses will use Accumulator Challenge as an opportunity to reconnect, have fun and above all raise as much as they can for Cynthia Spencer in celebration of its 45th birthday”.

The hospice fundraising team is still taking registrations for teams to join the challenge so any businesses or networking groups who wants to put their entrepreneurial skills towards raising money to support end of life care in Northamptonshire can sign up by contacting Nina by email on nina@cynthiaspencer.co.uk or by calling 01604 973348. More information can be found by visiting www.cynthiaspencer.org.uk/event/accumulatorchallenge2021.

 

We are delighted that, following our Private Client Team’s participation in Free Wills Month March 2020, our fantastic Team have raised in the region of £57,000 in future income for the Free Wills Month charities and a total of £9,692,797 raised overall.

Free Wills Month brings together a group of charities to offer individuals and couples over the age of 55 the opportunity to have simple Wills written or updated free of charge by using participating firms of solicitors of selected locations across England, Scotland and Wales.

Helen Taylor TEP, Head of Private Client at Franklins Solicitors LLP said “We are extremely pleased to hear that the Free Wills March 2020 campaign was a huge success, despite challenges with the first phase of the pandemic at the end of March. Free Wills Month is a scheme that we support each year and we are proud to be able to support a variety of charities and causes.” 

The next Free Wills campaign begins on March 1st 2021. For more information and to sign up, visit the Free Wills Month website by clicking here.

Our expert Private Client Team have over 60 years’ experience and specialise in all areas of Private Client. For further information on our Private Client Services, contact our expert team on 01908 660966 / 01604 828282 or email PrivateClient@franklins-sols.co.uk.