On 18th May we were delighted to host a celebration at Delapré Abbey to mark our 40th anniversary. The event was attended by clients, partners, friends and employees who have supported Franklins to become one of the leading law firms in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

In his welcome speech, Managing Partner Simon Long acknowledged that the event was not just a celebration of 40 years but also an opportunity to get together in person and return to a sense of normality after so much time apart, due to the pandemic.

The Firm is now equally owned by Simon, Andrea Smith, Lee Holmes and Scott Wright. There was a huge appreciation for the firm’s employees (some of whom have been with the firm since 1982 and 1984) for their continued loyalty and hard work, especially for rising to the unprecedented challenges faced during the pandemic.

At the heart of the local community

Supporting local communities has always been at the heart of the Franklins ethos. This year in line with the Firm’s 40th year the £40 challenge has been launched for individuals, corporates and organisations to turn £40 into as much money as possible to raise funds for the work carried out by Cynthia Spencer, Willen Hospice and MacIntyre.

A bright future

With the recent promotions of three solicitors to Associate Partners and some fantastic new talent joining the firm, the team at Franklins are looking forward to a bright future.

Photo credit: All Things Business Magazine

Franklins Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce that their recent 40 Mile Challenge has raised £2741.25. The challenge was created to mark our 40^th 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 24^th January – 13^th 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.

3. 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!