Randox staff raise over £14,000 for mental health charity partners AWARE and Mind Your Mood
Randox staff raise over £14,000 for mental health charity partners AWARE and Mind Your Mood
Global healthcare company Randox Laboratories has today announced that staff have raised over £14,000 for mental health charity partners AWARE NI and Mind Your Mood, during 2018 and 2019.
AWARE NI is the depression charity for Northern Ireland with an established network of 24 support groups in rural and urban areas across the country. They also deliver mental health and wellbeing programmes into communities, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces. Mind Your Mood is an initiative designed and managed by students at Ulster University to help break down the stigma of mental health and encourage students to access support.
Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director and Founder of Randox Laboratories, commented:
“There is no doubt that mental health issues are a major concern within our society and the vigour with which staff at Randox have fundraised for AWARE NI and Mind Your Mood, two causes close to everybody’s hearts, is to be commended.
“Randox staff across all areas – from Science to Engineering and Business to Manufacturing – have raised a substantial sum for our two charity partners and we hope that this figure will aid awareness of mental health and contribute to the help given to those suffering in Northern Ireland.”
The partnership, which was announced in July 2018, kicked off with the annual Randox Fest staff BBQ in August where 400 staff members had the opportunity to participate in a football tournament, tug-of-war and rounders. Talented musicians amongst Team Randox even took to the stage to bring live music to the festivities.
Throughout the year, Randox staff continued to enthusiastically support AWARE and Mind Your Mood. In October 2018, Randox hosted a company-wide Mental Health Month which saw various divisions take part in a fundraising coffee morning in Randox Health’s clinic in Holywood, a Wear Yellow Day across all of Randox’s NI sites, a daring abseil from the dome of Victoria Square Belfast and a fundraising bake sale for staff members.
The Randox Gaelic Football team also fundraised for the charities with their participation in an Interfirm Tournament in November 2018, while the annual Randox Christmas Raffle in December 2018 was once again popular as staff members vied for top prizes of a 55” Sony smart TV, an extra day of annual leave and tickets to the world-renowned Randox Health Grand National. Children of Randox staff also enjoyed a visit from another famous and festive figure in a red suit at this yearly family event in the staff calendar.
Clare Galbraith, Corporate Fundraising Officer for AWARE, commented:
“We have thoroughly enjoying working with Randox over the past year and are incredibly grateful to Randox staff for their hard work and perseverance in achieving this tremendous amount of fundraising.
“The vital work of AWARE is funded primarily by donations and without the generosity of people like those at Randox, we would not be able to provide the services we do to those living with depression and bipolar disorder in Northern Ireland.”
The new year in 2019 saw Randox staff taking part in a charity golf day at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, Belfast City Marathon and another abseil, this time from the top of Cave Hill’s most iconic landmark, Belfast Castle. Two brave staff members have also volunteered to scale the heights in a 10,000ft skydive in Garvagh which will take place later in the year.
Randox fundraising for AWARE NI and Mind Your Mood came to an end with AWARE NI’s Dragon Boat race on the River Lagan at the end of June 2019. Two Randox boats competed against 12 others in a race against the clock, with one Team Randox boat reaching the semi-final of the event.
Eddie Friel, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Ulster University said:
“Ulster University and Randox have a long-standing partnership built around research, knowledge, sharing, collaboration and student opportunity. This generous sum raised by Randox staff will go a long way in helping to support the mental health activity taking place at our four campuses through the Mind Your Mood initiative.”
Over £14,000 was raised, £10,826 of which was for AWARE NI-related activities and £3,270 for Mind Your Mood.
For further information please email randoxpr@randox.com or phone 028 9442 2413.
We Are Randox | Randox sets sail in AWARE NI’S Dragon Boat race
It was all hands on deck on Saturday 29th June 2019 as Team Randox competed in a Dragon Boat Race on the River Lagan for our charity partner AWARE NI.
The race took place at Cutter’s Wharf on Stranmillis Embankment in Belfast and featured fourteen different boats from ten NI businesses all vying to claim the top spot.
Other businesses taking part included Suki Tea, Anytime Fitness, Mivan, First Stop Solutions, Nanthealth, ABL Insurance, Rapid 7, Smiley Monroe and BNP Parabis.
Randox’s two boats fared well against their eager competitors. Randox Boat 1 won one of their two races against ABL Insurance Boat 1 while Randox Boat 2 impressively won both of their timed races against ABL Insurance Boat 2.
Randox Boat 2 even sailed in to the top four boats taking part, and the semi-final of the day’s events. However, the team narrowly missed out on a place in the final after a close defeat by Mivan Boat 2.
Timed heats:
Randox 1 v ABL Insurance 1
Randox 2 v ABL Insurance 2
Semi-Final:
Randox 2 v Mivan 2
Congratulations to the team from Rapid 7 who were the overall winner on the day and of course a massive well done to all the Randox staff members who took part. A fantastic day was enjoyed by all with over £10,000 being raised collectively by all the teams taking part.
AWARE NI is one of Randox’s charity partners and is the depression and bipolar charity for Northern Ireland. We have been proud to partner with them throughout 2018 and 2019, raising awareness and funds for this vital work through a range of different events.
For further information about our work with our two charity partners, AWARE NI and Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood, please contact the Randox PR team by emailing randoxpr@randox.com
Randox launches Mental Health & Wellbeing Month
Randox Health Holywood is this week hosting a fundraising event for mental health charities AWARE NI and Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood to launch Randox’s Mental Health & Wellbeing Month throughout October.
Held on Saturday 6th October 2018, 10am – 12noon, the health check company’s coffee morning event will offer customers, visitors and the residents of Holywood the opportunity to call in, grab a tea or coffee, and sample some scones and sweet treats, all while helping to raise money for those who need it most.
By shining a light on mental health issues, Randox hopes to educate its staff on how to look after their mental health while also raising funds for its two official charity partners. The fundraising coffee morning launches a month of staff initiatives including a Wear Yellow for World Mental Health Day on Wednesday 10th October, a company-wide Bake Sale on Friday 26th October, and a freefall abseil from the dome of Victoria Square Belfast on Sunday 21st October.
Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, commented;
“Every one of us has been touched either directly or indirectly by these issues and it’s something we at Randox wish to help to address. We have for example invested significantly in research that will determine how problems with the digestive system can affect your mood, sleep and stress levels. We hope that our partnerships not only help those affected by mental ill-health across Northern Ireland, but also empower our Randox staff to take care of their own mental well-being.”
AWARE NI is the depression charity for Northern Ireland with an established network of 23 support groups in rural and urban areas across the country, all run by trained volunteers. AWARE deliver mental health and wellbeing programmes in to communities, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces while also running a 24hr email help service.
Mind Your Mood, managed by Ulster University, is designed and delivered by students who have life experience of mental health illness to help other students avoid mental illness, provide support at the earliest point, build awareness of mental illness and provide support to students who are already diagnosed with mental illness.
Donations for the Randox Team Abseil can be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/RANDOXAWARE
For more information about Randox Mental Health & Wellbeing Month, please contact RandoxPR@randox.com.
