Goodness

Never before have I worked in an office quite like this one. My previous work experience tended to revolve around egos; either my employers, who had their sights set on design recognition; or my clients, who were Hell-bent on making higher profits than their competitors. Here, in this muddy little backwater, where we try to turn domestic waste into something of value, the attitude is altogether different.

I couldn't say for sure how often we hold charity fundraising events in the office. Probably not one every month (12 per year) Probably not even one every five weeks (10 per year) but a great many nevertheless. In August we were raising money for the Air Ambulance, September was McMillan and today was in aid of Cancer Research UK (with an emphasis on breast cancer).

Given the general disposition of people in Kent, we are more likely to be raising money for white British people who are unwell, particularly children (Next month's appeal will be Tommy's, and after that, Children in Need). We are less likely to be raising funds for Médecins Sans Frontières or Amnesty International, or any other charity supporting those arriving in Kent because they can no longer remain in their familiar homes.

Which I find rather odd, because so many of our essential staff are non-British (but noticeably white). I would be a great deal happier if we were less exclusive, but something is better than nothing.

Be that as it may. No matter how often we hold a fund-raiser, and no matter how much we raise within the office, our Head Office always guarantees to match our total. So when our office raises £146 for the Air Ambulance, the Air Ambulance receives £292 from the group. On average each of our fundraisers nets between £150 and £250, so that results in payouts between £300 and £500.

Normally, an office fundraiser is initiated by our receptionist, who will have received promotional material from the charity in question. Today's event was the brainchild of a couple of staff members.

Wear pink to work on Friday and pay £1 to do so.
Estimate the quantity of flamingoes depicted on this particular piece of wrapping paper (£1 to bid)
Buy a slice of pink cake for £1
etc.
We all had heaps of fun!