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