Our official charity this year is Teens Unite Fighting Cancer based in Broxbourne, which we’ve supported for several years. We’re thankful that many of our clients are equally enthusiastic about lending their support to this good cause. Since I joined the HB team earlier this year it’s been a delight to meet the founders of Teens Unite and learn more about the support they provide.
Helping teens overcome the loneliness of Cancer
Every day seven UK teenagers will hear the words “you have cancer.” Teens Unite was set up in 2007 by friends Debbie Pezzani and Karen Millen OBE. It supports 13 to 24-year-olds diagnosed with cancer, through workshops, residential stays and activity days. The aim is to help these young people to make friends, learn new skills, rebuild their confidence and live a life outside of their illness.
Why HB supports Teens Unite
Here’s what Karen Chase, one of our directors, had to say when she was asked about Teens Unite:
“It saddens me but also I admire the teenagers’ strength and courage during such tough times and I love what Teens Unite can offer them, but in doing so I also hope to encourage other companies to do the same. We organise lots of little events in the office throughout the year, such as dress down days and use networking events as an opportunity to talk about the work of Teens Unite which, let’s be honest, people are far more interested in than if we were talking about accounts!”
Fundraising and hair-raising events
Our team are committed to supporting Teens Unite. These are just some of the things we get up to:
Country Park Race
In May we took part in the Teens Unite race series at the River Lee Country Park in Waltham Abbey. For a small accountancy practice, we were pleased to field a team of seven intrepid runners: Abby Debnam, Amy Armitage, Barrie Chase, Brad Hearn
Callum Morgan, Catherine Hill, Karen Chase and myself, Vicki Foster.
Summer Quiz Night
This summer, we hosted a quiz night at Stanboroughs Conservative Club in Hoddesdon, “the best quiz I have ever been to” & “brilliant” were what two separate quiz goers had to say about the evening!! Tony Cox and co, from the team at Love Hoddesdon, were our Quiz Masters. Thank you to everyone who helped us raise over £800 for Teens Unite – (we are in the throws of organising our Winter Quiz night so keep you eyes peels, details to follow soon!!)
Skydive – 13,000-foot freefall
Our planned Skydive in June was delayed due to dangerous high winds and to give us more time to feel nervous! Together with Callum Morgan and Amy Armitage, we finally got to skydive in the right conditions on the 2nd of August, freefalling at 120mph for our favourite good cause.
Next charity events
Our next charity activity will be a team run as part of the Hoddesdon Give Your Town the Run Around event on 22nd September. Race distances include 2km, 5km and 8km making this a real community day for all abilities.
Then on the 13th of October, Karen Chase dons her trainers for the Royal Parks Half Marathon, with a challenging route through four of London’s royal parks.
Look out for details landing soon of our Winter Quiz night – penciled for early November.
If you’d like to support her and the team then please visit our JustGiving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/team-hb-are-on-a-mission
It all goes to show that we’re an energetic, approachable team. So, when you need a little help with accountancy, tax and audits, your friendly experts at HB Accountants will be ready to listen and take action on your behalf. You can email us at directors@hbaccountants.co.uk or call 01992 444466.
