Westin Gourmet

Our customers, farmers, suppliers and everyone at the Westin Gourmet HQ have done some silly, fantastic and breathtakingly generous charity drives over the years.

If you are part of the Westin Gourmet family and you are doing anything for charity, then let us know - we might be able to do something to help out!

2012 was a great year for fundraising, with lots of money being raised for much needed charitable causes with events such as The Bupa Great North Run, Tough Mudder and the Mablethorpe Marathon.

But as well as this I decided once again to do a Christmas 24 hour workathon with all the earnings and donations going to two worthy causes. To add to this, the employers generously almost doubled my hourly rate to really bump up that overall total to a whopping £960!

Firstly, we raised money to help out at 2 schools in Eastern Tanzania. Tanzania in East Africa is a very poverty stricken country and when me and my wife Holly were there, we were very privileged to meet some of the amazing local school children.

Karatu School and Matimu Primary and Nursery School were initially built by the government, and some small funding does still exist there, but the governments contribution is so low it is barely enough to keep them going (just enough to pay teacher’s wages with as little as £40 left over for the entire school to cover all supplies, food etc.)

Holly and I have been liaising with a local organisation in Arusha, who have been running community projects for many years to try and bridge the gap between what the government is able to supply and what the actual need is to be able to offer a better quality of education (their work has included providing daily porridge, school uniforms, stationary supplies, building of classrooms and even funding teachers wages). But, this organisation would not exist if it weren’t for the kindness of volunteers and charitable donors

The money we raised went towards the build of a much needed kitchen at Matimu School, so that the teachers and children can be provided with a warm meals (which to many children will be their only meal of the day), as well as supplying Karatu School with essentials such as textbooks, pens, pencils, chalk, maps etc. Education is one of the key factors in helping these wonderful children out of poverty (they really are adorable) and they are just so willing to learn.

If you would like to find out more about these projects please click here

Our second cause was the charity Save the Children, who also do amazing work for children at home and abroad.

Nathan Towers - Graphic Designer for Westin Gourmet
Charity Supported: Save The Children
Aid work: Karatu School and Matimu Primary and Nursery School
Amount Raised: £960

“I'm quite a charitable person but thought that as it was Christmas something special was in order.

Being the designer for Westin Gourmet I also have the opportunity to work on a freelance basis in my own time, which is good as I have a hefty wedding to pay for.

But as it was indeed Christmas I decided to do something charitable. The task was to work for 24 NON-STOP hours with all my earnings I would have got going straight to charity TAX FREE.

Darren (Director of Westin Gourmet) was more than happy to provide me with the work, but on top of this he would pay 50% higher than usual! With his help and with donations from Westin Gourmet customers and friends I managed to raise £1,032 in just 24 hours.

Save The Children saves lives...It's that simple!”

Nathan Towers - Graphic Designer for Westin Gourmet
Charity Supported: Save The Children
Amount Raised: £1,032

“I personally feel very strongly about the appalling lack of care that some of our senior citizens experience in hospitals and equally aggrieved with the age discrimination they can indure on a daily basis.

My personal views are echoed by the Westin Gourmet team and we are therefore a strong believer in supporting Age UK.

At the moment we are integrating our payment systems with Pennies, so that our fantastic customers have the option to put forward a small donation when they place an order with us - in time this will all add up.

 

We are also planning ways to help battle malnutrition within elderly citizens at a local level, which is something we hope to make good progress on over the next year"

Darren Beale - Director for Westin Gourmet
Charity Supported: Age UK
Amount Raised: Ongoing support

If you want to get involved, the easiest way is to donate when you place an order or donate to one of the active campaigns which will appear on this page. Alternatively, contact us with any ideas you have!