Tis the Season to be Thoughtful…

Christmas is a time for giving and receiving, whether you’re hoping Santa brings you the latest tech gadgets, or you’re looking forward to seeing your child open a gift you just KNOW they’re going to love – sometimes we need a little reminder that the Holiday Season isn’t just about the presents. Spending time with family and friends, thinking of those in need, and showing love and compassion for others really is the true meaning of Christmas. Not everyone will be as fortunate as us this year – with an estimated 280,000 people sleeping rough on Christmas day; this time of reflection really puts things into perspective.

Whether you donate to charity, give up your time to volunteer and help implement change, or you donate some of your old toys to the 135,000 children who will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation this -winter – everyone has the right to decide how they can contribute towards a better society. UP3 strongly believe in utilising our privilege to helping others, rather than spending money on material items, we want to channel our efforts into trying to help the people who need it the most; from the elderly who are spending the day alone, to children and families who can’t afford to put food on the table. This Christmas we’re not giving presents, we’ll be donating items to Sutton Night Watch to help support the great work they do in supporting the homeless in our local area. We’ll also be donating money to charities close to ours and our customers hearts in the hopes of spreading the giving spirit and showing our support for some of the 160,000 UK charities helping families and other great causes during the festive season.

John Sullivan and the Virgin Trains team at Ride Africa

This isn’t just something we do at Christmas; over the last twelve months we’ve supported our customers and employees in raising money for a variety of causes. We sponsored our friend John Sullivan and the Virgin Trains team who took on the Ride Africa challenge in aid of Railway Children; who do an incredible job helping children on the streets of the UK, India and East Africa. In September we were delighted to sponsor Dan Morgan from Nuffield Health who fasted for 24 hrs, walked 14 miles into London and slept out on the streets to raise money and awareness for Streets of London. In addition to this, we also donated funds to Anti-Bullying campaigns through the London Marathon, and raised money for the Brain Tumour charity through our annual, and now infamous, Steptember Challenge. With giving to others being a key part of our core values, these are initiatives we will be continuing not just in 2020, but for the future of the UP3 brand.

Its not just us paving the way, organisations like Marks & Spencer’s Group (who donated £15.5m in 2017), Goldman Sachs, John Lewis Partnership and Royal Mail plc have done fantastic work in embedding a giving mentally into their business ethos. With the power for change in the hands of our businesses, everyone can do their bit to help the wider community. If you’d like to look into causes that are close to your heart, or find helpful organisations that align with your business values, take a look at this website to see the breadth of charities available. And remember – make invaluable memories and surround yourself with love this Holiday Season; we are beyond fortunate to be able to do so.

The UP3 Team