Ten years of fundraising gives charities access to fifty thousand pounds

Colchester, UK - 01 September 2010 - Access, the mid-market consulting, software and solutions provider, today handed three charities cheques amounting to £10,000, which has taken the company's fundraising activities to £50,000 . For the past decade the company has selected a range of charities and used various initiatives to raise money, with every member of staff getting involved.

In the past 12 months alone, Access staff have raised over £6,000 for Sue Ryder Care, Cancer and Bio Detection Dogs, and Macmillan Cancer Support through 'dress down Fridays', computer auctions and even paying to watch England play in the World Cup. For every pound raised Access has matched staff efforts pound for pound. As he handed over the money, Chris Bayne, managing director of Access UK and Ireland, said, "The staff at Access have really embraced the opportunity to help their chosen charities; it's quite easy, in principle, to say let's raise money - but to actually follow it through to the extent of handing over a sizeable cheque is outstanding."

Access' fundraising began in the year 2000 with the charity Rhythm of Life, and has grown since then, taking in St Elizabeth Hospice, East Anglian Air Ambulance, Cancer Research UK and the Children's Heart Foundation. Chris continued, "Many of our customers are in the not-for-profit sector, so we realise the demands on their finances and the challenges they face - it's great to be able to give something back."

"Our charitable efforts also give us an opportunity to engage with staff. Most of the money raised comes from 'dress down Fridays' where everyone simply pays £1 to come casual for the day. It's simple and effective, helps staff morale and it ends the week on a high," said Chris. "By allowing our staff to vote on their charity of the year, we get a real buy-in and they have a vested interest in raising money. It's not forced, it's an option, which benefits the business and gives us the opportunity to raise a good deal of money for charities."

Access aims to continue its 'Charity of the Year' scheme, this year selecting one charity for the whole company for the first time, rather than separate regional charities for each of the offices.

For more information on Access call 0845 345 3300 or visit www.theaccessgroup.com. Alternatively, keep up-to-date by following Access on twitter, @theaccessgroup.

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