Our Corporate Social Responsibility
Having worked with a wide variety of charitable organisations over the years, Champions Speakers is proud to have been able to give back to those who need it most. Corporate social responsibility plays an important role in our day-to-day business activities, and as a result, we continue to raise funds for charities across the United Kingdom. Together with our sister companies and our Director of CSR - Louisa Hayes - we have raised over £2.8 million for charities of all shapes and sizes.
Rainbows – a children’s hospice based in the East Midlands – is a charity that is close to our hearts. As the only hospice of its kind in the region, Rainbows provides crucial support for children and young people suffering from life-threatening conditions. With only a fraction of their funding coming from government sources, the hospice is heavily reliant on support from patrons and donors. Read more about our partnership with Rainbows, now.
To date, Champions have raised in excess of £2,000,000 in aid of their cause. Working with a wide array of notable speakers as part of our business, several of our speakers have become Rainbows patrons. Helping to further raise the hospice’s public profile, many of our speakers appear regularly at charity events held in support of Rainbows’ work.
The annual Rainbows Charity Ball, which functions as our biggest charity fundraising event, has also helped to raise valuable funds in aid of Rainbows‘ work. A highlight of the charity event calendar, the event sees an array of high-profile celebrities come together for an evening of silent bidding and exciting live entertainment. With the event’s proceeds going directly to Rainbows, the Rainbows Charity Ball greatly benefits the incredible work the charity is engaged in.
Aside from supporting Rainbows, Champions Speakers has also raised more than £1.2 million for numerous other organisations. Some of the organisations we’ve been able to support over the years include Brainwave, Cure Leukaemia, The Lord’s Taverners, Giving Africa, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street and the PCA Benevolent Fund. Last but not least, we’ve also been able to donate much-needed equipment to the local Costock Primary School, as well as offering apprenticeships and work experience placements to young people.
Charity Events
Our charity work has seen many of our speakers feature as part of charity events. Top speakers such as Ashes winner Matthew Hoggard have taken part in events such as The Authors XI vs. The Lord’s Taverners XI, which saw two star-studded teams face off for a game of cricket in aid of sports charity The Lord’s Taverners. From Tour-level golf tournaments and charity auctions to our very own sports day here at Champions HQ, we’re always looking for new ways to support worthy causes. Here are just a few more of the events we've worked on recently:
- Annual Cricket Dinner
- The Tony Jacklin CBE Belfry Charity Invitational
- Champions Charity Auction
- Annual Celebrity Charity Balls
- Leicester Mercury Business Awards
- Toast of Surrey Business Awards
- Farmfoods British Par 3
A message from Dee Sissons, CEO of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People
"Champions have been the largest, and longest-standing, supporter of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People for well over a decade. In this time, they have raised more than £2M to fund our work and in the process putting on countless events, securing hundreds of media and press articles to promote the hospice and introduce us to many more supporters.
Champions are a family business and families are at the heart of how they work. Founded by dad and CEO John, the Hayes family are all incredibly supportive of Rainbows. This goes a long way to explain their passionate commitment to all they do whilst supporting us. All of their support is helping us to deliver our strategy of helping families wherever they are at the hospice, in a hospital or at home.
John himself has suffered the pain of losing his sister Jane to a life-limiting condition and he experienced the strain this put on his parents and their relationship with him and others in the family. By supporting Rainbows, John knows that he is directly helping other families faced with a similar situation who will get the care they need, when they need it.
Each year, Champions create a programme of high-profile events that are either in aid of Rainbows or that include some fundraising elements on behalf of the charity. In recent years these have included an annual gala ball at the Dorchester, cricket and rugby dinners, countless awards evenings and numerous golf events. Even through the pandemic and when the restrictions were lifted in 2021, they never forgot their commitment to Rainbows and as soon as possible got back to fundraising for us.
It's been my pleasure as CEO at Rainbows to work with Champions to support their events. Their commitment to supporting children and young people with life-limiting conditions is hugely valued and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them for many years to come."
Aside from supporting Rainbows, Champions Speakers has also raised more than £1.2 million for numerous other organisations. Some of the organisations we’ve been able to support over the years include Brainwave, Cure Leukaemia, The Lord’s Taverners, Giving Africa, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street and the PCA Benevolent Fund. Last but not least, we’ve also been able to donate much-needed equipment to the local Costock Primary School, as well as offering apprenticeships and work experience placements to young people.