Executive search firm’s award-winning campaign is fundraising for suicide prevention charity while changing participants’ lives
London: Global executive search firm Venari Partners is delighted to announce the successful completion of its award-winning charity campaign, the Venari Partners Challenge to the Fjords. The Shoreditch-based business sent eight deserving individuals on an all-expenses-paid adventure hiking and kayaking through the Norwegian fjords to raise money for the suicide prevention charity, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). The participants, who have all had significant challenges to overcome in recent years, went through a nomination process before selection by a neutral panel. They joined representatives from Venari Partners – as well as a CALM ambassador, the presenter Richie Driss – on a team led by Paul Harris, also known as ‘The Warrior Walker’. Flying with official transport partner, Scandinavian Airlines, the group arrived in Bergen on 7 September prior to an epic 70km expedition through the fjords, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sea to Summit were official equipment sponsors, meanwhile.
Company Director James Parker first proposed the Venari Partners Challenge in October 2022. The first campaign took place a year later as seven deserving participants, as well as representatives from Venari Partners and official partner Joramco, trekked to Petra, Jordan, raising money for charities of their choice (including CALM). This initiative received Communitas and International CSR Excellence Awards, as well as nominations for the Better Society and Charity Times Awards. This second edition of the Venari Partners Challenge is fundraising exclusively for CALM, who are fighting to reduce the devastating impact of suicide in the UK. The organisation runs a life-saving helpline for anyone affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts: a service that is sadly all too necessary in the UK, where someone dies by suicide every 90 minutes. At the time of writing, the Venari Partners Challenge has raised almost £9,000 for CALM, enough to fund over 720 life-saving phone calls.
‘As a business, we exist to give people new opportunities,’ James Parker notes. ‘When we were first devising the Venari Partners Challenge, we thought we needed to find a way to give back to society. Creating an incredible experience for people who’ve been dealt a tough hand, while raising money for a cause as noble as CALM, underlines our belief that companies should do more to positively impact their communities. It’s been a privilege to hold the Challenge for a second year and we couldn’t be prouder of the group’s efforts in Norway.’
To learn more about the Venari Partners Challenge, you can visit the company website or contact Stephen Cox: [email protected]. You can also follow updates on the campaign via Venari Partners’ LinkedIn and Instagram. Meanwhile, donations to CALM for the Venari Partners Challenge are gratefully received via JustGiving.
– ENDS –
