In February 2020, The HACS Group pledged to raise £10,000 for Saint Michael’s Hospice as part of our 35-year anniversary celebrations. Sadly, plans had to be halted due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, which saw many organised events and fundraising activities cancelled, but that didn’t stop us, especially knowing that the charity needed support more than ever, and as a result we have now raised over £15,000 for the local charity.

The main fundraising activity was The Total Warrior event at Bramham Park this June, 23 ‘HACS Warriors’ signed up for the 12k obstacle course, including our Managing Director Mark Smith who said he was “proud of the whole team that took part and it was a fantastic day out for a great cause.”

The Total Warrior raised £10,059 towards the fundraising total and we were blown away by the donations. Eddie Ashworth, Commercial Director said “The support we received from friends, family, clients, suppliers and colleagues was amazing and it was the motivation we all needed to train, turn up and complete the course on the day, we can’t thank everyone enough!”

Other fundraising activities carried out by our employees to reach the £15k total included:

The Yorkshire Three Peaks in March 2020, completed by 4 team members in just under 9.5hrs, raising £1,517. Anne Smith said “‘Sergeant Major Ashworth’ ensured we stayed on course and we gruelled it out in the rain, wind, snow and a tiny bit of sunshine.”

Two employees successfully ran their first ever half marathons. Katie Hood taking part in The Great North Run, September 2021, she completed it in 2hrs and 13mins, raising £550. Katarina Havasova raised £515 running the Edinburgh Half Marathon on 29^th May 2022. Kat gained an injury during training but still managed to complete the full run on the day and is already planning her next event!

We raised the remaining funds over the two years with office activities such as cake sales, quizzes and casual dress days and are planning more for the rest of the year in support of the charity.

As members of the Saint Michael’s Guild of Patrons initiative, we have chosen to raise money for the charity as many of our employees have a personal connection. Commercial Director Eddie Ashworth said: “We have always had Saint Michael’s close to our hearts, and as a local company with over 100 employees, many of our colleagues and their families have had experience and the benefit of services provided by Saint Michael’s.

“We’re proud to be raising money for Saint Michael’s – a vital local charity offering care and support to those living with terminal illness and bereavement – following a tough couple of years, we know our community has needed the charity more than ever before and we’re delighted to have been able to support them with our contribution.”

Saint Michael’s Chief Executive Tony Collins said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to HACS for their fantastic efforts to raise £15,000 in support of Saint Michael’s. Thanks to the remarkable support of our community, we’re able to ensure we reach those across the Harrogate district with personalised and compassionate care, in the right place, at the right time.”