Bringing the fun to work: Stories from our fundraisers

“We wanted to fundraise for Asthma + Lung UK as it’s a charity that is close to our hearts”

The Children’s Asthma Team in Croydon held a cake sale to celebrate their 10th birthday. Jo, an Asthma Nurse Specialist shares why the team chose to fundraise for Asthma + Lung UK.

“We are two Asthma Nurse Specialists, who work with children and young people with asthma in Croydon. Our role is to educate, support and help children and their families to successfully manage their asthma.

We wanted to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK as we use their resources regularly in our role. As well as signpost parents and carers to visit the charity's amazing website.

In total, we were able to fundraise £177. We had a wonderful time meeting the hard working staff at the hospital as well as members of the public.

We both feel that other medical conditions seem to get more media coverage, whereas asthma is often overlooked. In the future, we hope to see less outdated or incorrect representation in the media of asthma. We always joke that if we had a bus, we would drive around Croydon to spread awareness and bust common asthma myths.”

"We are proud to have honoured Andrew’s memory in such a meaningful way"

When faced with the sudden loss of a valued colleague and friend, the team at Transport for Wales decided to walk part of the Taff Trail to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK. Kevin, one of the organisers of the event, tells us more.

“It was very hard losing Andrew last year to pneumonia. He was a colleague for many years and also a friend. We are a small team, and his death has affected us all deeply.

Covering a total of 20 miles walking from Merthyr Tydfil to Taff’s Well was no small feat but it was a really special day, and we had a good time celebrating his life and memory. There was around 20 of us all together and the weather was glorious.

It was great to be joined by Andrew’s wife, Tracey and their son, Jordan and Jordan’s girlfriend.

Their presence made the event even more special, and we are proud to have honoured Andrew’s memory in such a meaningful way. While it was certainly tiring, it was a day filled with warmth, laughter, and remembrance.

My 10-year-old daughter who has asthma also came along as well as my sister, so for me it was really nice to have my family there too."

"We wanted to do something to honour Joshua’s legacy in a positive way"

This summer, several teachers from Telford Langley School took part in the National Three Peaks Challenge to fundraise in memory of Joshua Lloyd, a beloved student who passed away in June 2023. Oli, one of the teachers who took part in the challenge, tells us about it.

“We took on the challenge as we wanted to do something to honour Joshua’s legacy in a positive way. So, we decided to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon within 24 hours.

The challenge itself was very difficult as it involved a lot of travelling. Physically and mentally it was very demanding as we were having to battle the rainy and windy weather conditions.

In total it took us just under 24 hours to complete and we have managed to fundraise over £7,000 for Asthma + Lung UK. Plus a further £1,200 for the Dawley Youth Club, our local youth club.

I want to say thank you to Great Dawley Town Council, who funded the fuel for the coach. As well as everybody else who kindly donated.

It was a genuine pleasure to share this experience with such amazing colleagues and a weekend that we will remember forever. Especially climbing Scafell Pike at 03:17 on Sunday morning and having colleagues join us for the final assent of Snowdon on Sunday afternoon.

With everyone's support and generosity, we were able to raise a significant amount of money for two very worthy charities.”