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Helen Whittaker manager
Thomson, Long Row, Nottingham Impersonating a chicken is all in a day’s charity work
Ever since Helen Whittaker was at school, she has been passionate about raising money for charitable causes. “I remember doing a ‘step aerobathon’ at school, and every year after that we used to do a fundraising event. I was always driven to raise money for charity,” recalls Helen, manager of Thomson’s Long Row branch in Nottingham. Becoming Thomson’s charity champion for the East Midlands in 2013 – as part
of her role as one of the company’s ‘sustainability champions’ – gave Helen the opportunity to put her fundraising passion to good use in her everyday job. It meant she could channel her energy into encouraging and organising agents
across her region to raise funds for the company’s chosen cause, the Family Holiday Association, and this year’s other charity of choice, Cancer Research UK. Moved by the charities’ stories, Helen decided to organise a 10-mile sponsored walk in Matlock with Thomson’s local shop managers and regional sales managers last April. “I had to take into consideration everyone’s ability, so I came up with the idea of 10
fun challenges to keep up morale,” she says. “I bought a huge pair of pants and glued on red sequins to make a Tui smile and a
hashtag. Everyone had to wear the ‘pants of power’ at some point during the first mile of the walk.”
Other challenges included peeling a banana without your hands, imitating a chicken and carrying someone on your back while blindfolded.
Helen’s CV ●2015: manager, Thomson, Nottingham ●2012-15: manager, Thomson, Matlock
●2006-12: worked at various Thomson shops including as assistant manager at Thomson, Chesterfield
●2004-06: travel adviser, Wallace Arnold, Chesterfield
●2003-04: Thomson children’s rep based in Majorca during the summer, and worked as a consultant in Thomson, Chesterfield, in winter
“One of the managers was impersonating a chicken when a group of ramblers walked past, so it definitely stirred up a bit of interest,” laughs Helen. It worked: everyone completed the
walk, the group raised £2,000 and, critically, had fun doing it. “Everyone was tired but raising that amount gave them a real boost,” she adds. For Helen, charity work not only helps engage and motivate staff across the business, but can also benefit the business itself. “It helps build really good
relationships with customers,” she says. “I’ve been into other local businesses asking for their support and afterwards they have often come in to book with us.”
Would you like to be profiled on Readers’ Lives? Tell us why it should be you! Email:
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
34 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 12 March 2015
✪ Get the community’s support: Contact local firms and customers to support your charity work. Building up partnerships in the community has such a positive impact and will boost your profile.
✪ Use social media: Employ all forms of communication, as well as your shop, to communicate your fundraising messages to gain support.
Top: Helen (centre) organised a 10-mile charity walk with the help of colleagues Rebecca Marshall (left) and Elizabeth Rushton, both from the Thomson store in Matlock
HELEN’S TIPS ON FUNDRAISING
✪ Choose a charity: Once you have contacted your chosen charity, it will provide information and support to help you organise events.
✪ Get the company’s support: The more ‘buy in’ you can get from your bosses and colleagues, the easier it will be to get events off the ground.
READERS’ LIVES
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