This month, we are delighted to be celebrating our 25th birthday and we’ve certainly come a long way since 1997. From compiling directory ads in founder Chris’ garage to the global expansion of our full-service design, marketing and brand agency, there aren’t many digital agencies who reach their quarter-century anniversary. However, one thing that has remained constant throughout the years is our pledge to support those causes close to our hearts and those of our employees, showing how business can be used as a force for good.
Here, we take a look back at just some of the events and challenges we’ve taken on individually, in teams and company-wide during our 25 years, as well as the charities we’ve chosen to support and how.
Cycle of Ireland
In memory of Jenni Titherley
In 2011, our friend and accountant Jenni Titherley died of ovarian cancer and we raised money for her family by cycling Coast to Coast in Ireland, from Dublin to Galway, in her memory.
Just 4 Jake John O'Groats to Lands End Sponsored Cycle Ride
Supporting Jake Evans
In 2013, Adtrak’s Chris Robinson, Jason Parker and Mike Whitby cycled over 1000 miles in just 9 days to help raise money for an operation for Jake Michael Evans, who was 4 years old at the time. Jake has cerebral palsy; he suffered brain damage as a result of being born prematurely and, because of this, couldn’t walk or stand. The money raised was for a surgical procedure called an SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy) to help Jake walk independently. Combined with other fundraising events outside of Adtrak a total over £44,000 was raised for this special little boy.
London to Paris Cycle & Cake Sale
Supporting Ben’s Den
Ben Parker was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2000 when he was 10 years old. A year after his death in 2003, The Ben Parker Trust Fund began. The local charity raises money to buy caravans (or ‘Ben’s Dens’) in Mablethorpe – providing free holidays for families with children diagnosed with cancer and leukaemia.
In 2014, an Adtrak team of 6 cyclists (Chris Robinson, Chris Rutter, Jennifer Hackett, Rachel Hutsby, Tom Nightingale and Liam Towndrow) completed a gruelling 290 mile bike ride from London to Paris in just 3 days, raising over £7000 for Ben’s Den.
Other employees showed their support by baking cakes and sweet treats for a charity bake sale. Selling their wares to fellow staff, as well as our neighbours at Capital FM, an additional £100 was raised.
Band Aid 30
It was 2014 when we received a phone call from Bob Geldof’s agent. Band Aid was going to be revived 30 years after the original and they needed a website, a logo and branding - all of which we provided for free to support the charity. #BandAid30 was a remake of the original 1984 charity song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and raised more than $1.5 million within minutes of its release to help fight the Ebola crisis in Western Africa.
Race for Life
Supporting Cancer Research UK
Sarah O’Loughlin, Sally Rippon, Jennifer Muncey, Maria Louro, Ella McCahill, Laura Archer, Claire Baldwin and Daniella Woodward took on the 10k Race for Life at Nottingham Victoria Embankment in 2014. Collectively, the team raised over £1500 for Cancer Research UK.
Easter Egg Collection
Donated to Nottingham Children’s Hospital
In 2014, the Gi Group Ltd organised an Easter egg collection for Nottingham Children’s Hospital. They asked local businesses and their employees to donate as many eggs as possible and our wonderful staff contributed 52 eggs to the cause.
Football Shirt Friday
Supporting the Bobby Moore Fund
Every year, the football fans of the office unite, donning their favourite team shirts and donating to the Bobby Moore Fund on the annual Football Shirt Friday. The fund was set up in 1993 in memory of Bobby Moore to fundraise for life-saving bowel cancer research.
Ben Shaw’s Annual Golf Days
Supporting Cancer Research UK
Account Director Ben Shaw has been organising an annual charity golf event for the last nine years following the loss of a close family member. This year, the event was hosted by Grim’s Dyke Golf Club and raised more than £1700 for Cancer Research UK.
Christmas Jumper Day
Supporting Save the Children
Every December, the office gets together to ‘make the world better with a sweater’. Wearing our finest Christmas jumpers and each donating £2, we raise money for Save the Children. Even working from home doesn’t stop us - instead, we showed off our festive knits via Google Hangouts.
Great Comic Relief Bake Off
Supporting Comic Relief
Ready, steady, bake! Embracing GBBO fever, we encouraged everyone in the office to dust off their aprons and bring their cake creations into work. Not only did the proceeds of the bake sale go to Comic Relief, there was also a vote for the Star Baker!
Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk
Supporting Framework
Tom Quickfall completed a solo walk of Wainwright's Coast to Coast from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. Averaging 18-20 miles a day over 12 days, up and down a few mountains and across a few moors, Tom raised over £1000 for Framework. Local charity Framework delivers housing, health, employment, support and care services to people with a diverse range of needs across the East Midlands.
Race for Life
Supporting Cancer Research UK
In 2016, Laura Archer, Caroline Hill and Sarah O’Loughlin joined Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. Raising over £500 combined, every sponsor helped to fund Cancer Research UK's life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.
Brave the Shave
Supporting Macmillan Cancer Support
‘Brave the Shave’ is a campaign by Macmillan Cancer Support, encouraging people to seek sponsorship to shave all of their hair off and share the event on social media. Which is exactly what Sean Bradbury and Dan Bevan did in 2017. Congregating in the office, we all supported the shave that took place one lunchtime, with fellow colleague Nathan O’Connor even wielding the clippers!
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Samaritan’s Purse UK’s ‘Operation Christmas Child’ collects shoebox gifts filled with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items, and delivers them to children in need around the world. Thanks to the suggestion of taking part by an Adtrak employee, 73 shoeboxes were filled and donated in 2017.
Big Sleep Out
Supporting Framework
Taking part in Framework’s Big Sleep Out in 2018, George Musson, Alasdair Purkis, Joe Rowntree and Dan Farrow swapped their warm beds for a cold car park on a chilly November night. All funds raised (over £700) went to Framework to help in their mission of tackling rough sleeping in Nottinghamshire, as well as providing help to some of the most vulnerable people at one of the most difficult times of the year.
World's Biggest Coffee Morning
Macmillan Cancer Support
The World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event. Each year, people in the UK host their own Coffee Morning, with the donations received going towards Macmillan services. When held in the Adtrak office, everyone was encouraged to bring in an array of baked goods and plenty of change to buy them with. Over £100 was raised on the day.
The Cornerhouse / Old Basford Primary School Food Bank
In December 2019, the Cornerhouse opened a food bank on behalf of Old Basford Primary School and to support the cause, we wanted to collect a company-wide box of donations. All donations were used to support families within the local community who struggle financially over the Christmas period. We collected a mountain of food and toiletries, and hand-delivered them to the Cornerhouse.
The Wollaton Park 10k Run & Little John 100 Mile Bike Ride 2019
Supporting Framework
Proud to once again raise money for East Midlands charity Framework to help with their mission to improve the lives of vulnerable people, a team of runners competed in the Wollaton Park 10km race. Plus, a team of 6 cyclists took on The Little John 100 mile bike ride as part of CycleLive Nottingham. Runners Katy Parrish, Simon Congdon, Alasdair Purkis, Andy Norton, Maciej Wegorzewski and Kate Lindars, and cyclists Alasdair Purkis, Nathan O'Connor, Aaron Robb, Caroline Hill, Chris Rutter and Tom Nightingale all completed the challenge and raised over £900.
Adtrak & Field 2021
For Louisa Holman and supporting Shine Cancer Support
In September 2020, our colleague Louisa Holman was diagnosed with breast cancer. To honour her fighting spirit and how much she loves exercise, ‘Adtrak and Field’ was born. The company-wide sporting challenge saw a team of 39 of us each set a distance goal to complete during February 2021, whether it be walking, running or cycling. Whilst our collective target was a distance of over 3500km, we ended up completing 4600km and raised over £8000 for Louisa’s chosen charity, Shine Cancer Support. Offering help to people with cancer in their 20s, 30s and 40s, Shine’s support proved invaluable for Louisa during her treatment.
Endurancelife Gower Ultra Marathon
Supporting Dolen Ffermio
The coastal Gower Ultra Marathon is set against an incredible natural backdrop of cliff tops, downland, woodland, sand dunes and world famous beaches. Senior Video and Motion Producer Alasdair Purkis ran the 34 mile Gower Ultra in October last year. Not only did he complete the gruelling course, Alasdair finished 16th out of 180 people! This was all whilst raising money for Dolen Ffermio, a small charity based in Llanfyllin, Mid-Wales, partnering community development initiatives in Eastern Uganda.
Adtrak & Field 2022
In memory of James Sheppard and supporting Cardiac Risk in the Young
Our friend and colleague James Sheppard passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) on 17 April 2021. In memory of James and for the Adtrak and Field 2022 challenge, we pledged to raise money for the chosen charity of his family and girlfriend Sophie, Cardiac Risk in the Young. Supporting Sophie and CRY’s vision to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, we walked, ran, cycled and swam nearly 4000km, raising £1000.
Ukraine Crisis Appeal
British Red Cross
The Ukraine crisis is something that has been difficult for people to comprehend and we were all considering the best way to help, as individuals and together as a company. As such, the leadership team had regular discussions and began researching the ways in which Adtrak could make a difference. It was concluded that the most effective way we could help was to make a donation to the Ukraine refugee cause through the British Red Cross. They are doing incredible work in supporting people in Ukraine, with Red Cross volunteers providing psychosocial support and essentials such as food and fuel.
Walk 100km in June
Supporting Alzheimer’s Society
To support the Alzheimer’s Society and in memory of her mum Liz, Clare Hindson took on the challenge to walk 100km in June with her dog Scout. Raising over £100 for the charity, Clare completed her challenge to support families living with dementia now and in the future.
National Three Peaks Challenge
Supporting Nottingham University Hospitals Charity & the Trent Cardiac Centre
In July this year, Head of Paid Marketing Andy Norton took on the Three Peaks Challenge. Andy, along with a team of 24 others (including Digital Marketing Consultant Taylor Stefanik) climbed the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours. The total walking distance was 23 miles and the total ascent was 3064 metres, so it was quite the challenge! Andy climbed for Nottingham Hospitals Charity and The Trent Cardiac Unit at Nottingham City Hospital in memory of his dad, Keith Norton, and raised over £6000. There is still time to donate and you can do so here.
Martha’s March
Supporting Nottingham University Hospitals Charity & the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Last December, Communications Coordinator Amanda Hallam prematurely gave birth to a baby girl, Martha. Despite receiving expert 24 hour medical care, Martha died in Nottingham City Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) when she was just 6 days old. On Saturday 10th September, Amanda, along with a team of over 40 others (including Holly Shackleton, Fiona Spice, Caroline Hill and Josie Francis) walked from the hospital to Long Bennington. A walking distance of over 21 miles, the route was chosen as it is the journey home Martha should have made. The team are raising money for Nottingham Hospitals Charity to fully refurbish the Garden Room on the NICU at City Hospital. Their mission is to make the room a less clinical environment for families with premature or sick newborn babies. To read their story or to donate, please click here.
