Our partnership with Cancer Research UK

This year we’ve partnered with a charity that is close to our heart, Cancer Research UK.

There are over 200 different types of cancer, and they are the only charity fighting them all. We wanted to play our part in supporting the vital research done by Cancer Research UK and our goal is to raise £10,000 by July 2024 for the charity and raise awareness of their work as we go.

We have a host of events lined up for the year ahead with one immense fundraising challenge already completed, uniting the business and kicking off our partnership with Cancer Research UK.

Why we have partnered with Cancer Research UK

As a business, we want to make positive contributions through charitable donations and advocating for important organisations, and as a community, many of our lives have been touched by the work of Cancer Research UK. Our decision to partner with such an amazing charity was one of the easiest that we’ve made.

Cancer has impacted us, or will impact us all in one way or another, with one in two people developing some form of cancer during their lifetime.

Key signs and symptoms of cancer

Our colleagues have lost friends and family to this disease, and some have loved ones currently battling cancer.

We have lost some incredible team members over the last few years: Marion Burns, Petranella Day, Lucy Simmons, Steve Slade, Lesley Ellis and Laura Brench.

Any and all money raised and the work put into supporting Cancer Research UK is done in memory of our friends and loved ones.

Top tips for telephone and video appointments

What we hope to achieve

Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for their research, so their work simply wouldn't be possible without the help of everyone fundraising for Cancer Research UK around the country.

Every step the charity’s 4,000 scientists, researchers and nurses make relies on donations and support from partners like Travel Chapter.

Want to get involved? 10 things you can do

Our goal is to raise £10,000 over the next 12 months to help Cancer Research UK with their crucial research. We’ve begun this year with a month-long challenge (more info below) that’s been taken on by many of our colleagues, and we’re confident we will reach our grand total by July 2024.

While more than a quarter of the deaths in the UK are currently caused by cancer, the progress that’s been made already is undeniable. Forty years ago, only one in four people would survive cancer.

Thanks to research this figure has doubled so that, today, two in four will survive the disease. We’re intent on keeping this momentum going. Alongside raising money, we hope to raise awareness of the essential research the charity does, with the aim to provide a better prognosis and eventually defeat this disease altogether.

With the support of Travel Chapter, Cancer Research UK will continue to make more discoveries, drive more progress and bring more hope to all those affected by cancer.

What we have done so far to raise money: The August Steps Challenge

Our 12-month mission kicked off in August when over 50 members of staff took part in our company-wide August Steps Challenge.

Each individual walked an incredible 384,339 steps across the month. This immense number of steps has an important meaning behind it; it was chosen because it is the number of people who are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK.

We wanted this challenge to be something that unites everyone in the business, no matter where they are based. How our colleagues made up the step count was entirely up to them, and seeing the wide range of ways people chose to get involved was inspiring.

There was everything from walking to running, dancing to geocaching, and members of our team even used Pokemon Go to complete their step count. The highest step count in one day from one single person was a remarkable 55,000 steps.

Additional fun ways our colleagues kept their step count up was through having walking meetings, walking around whilst watching MasterChef, and planning a wildlife walk where an escapee pony was spotted! We’re proud of the creativity and determination shown across the company in supporting Cancer Research UK, and of how much our colleagues have already achieved in just one month.

Our plans for the year ahead

This was only the start. We will be running a host of other events and challenges throughout the year to unite the business; both office workers and home-based staff can get involved and contribute efforts towards achieving our goal of £10k for the charity.

Upcoming events that will contribute towards our company-wide target include coffee mornings, a baking competition, clothes swaps, the ‘Spare Change Challenge’ and charity car washes.

Learn more and get involved

Head over to the Cancer Research UK website to learn more about their life-changing research and the ways individuals can support their work.

‍