Williams, the prestige automotive retailer with centres in Bolton, Liverpool, Rochdale, Stockport, and the Manchester flagship centre at TraffordCity, has raised £21,000 for Maggie’s Cancer Centres in 2021. The family-owned business, has grown from its first car showroom on Deansgate in Manchester to emerge as one of the North West’s most admired and respected automotive retail businesses, and has pledged to continue its charity fundraising for Maggie’s who help both recently diagnosed and those with long-term cancer and their families to face everyday problems with support and reassurance.
The Williams team created a calendar of fundraising events. Staff took on a sporting challenge by joining in the Williams sponsored Rochdale half marathon and 10k. Amongst the events the Maggie’s festive trees of love at Christmas took centre stage in the Williams retail centres. The trees of love offered visitors the opportunity to donate by purchasing handmade Christmas tree decorations, on which they could write a personal message in memory of their loved ones to hang on the trees.
These initiatives, combined with the company’s staff Christmas Jumper Day and other events during the year, ensure that the partnership between Maggie’s and Williams continues to grow to help the charity raise as many funds as possible to support those in need with the company matching and exceeding any monies that staff raised for Maggie’s.
Maggie’s has masterfully continued to deliver its vital services including free counselling, information, and advice to people diagnosed with cancer, both online and in person, during the pandemic. The teams, based in the region at The Christie Hospital in Withington, the Royal Oldham, and Clatterbridge in The Wirral, have managed to maintain their services despite the many challenges of the past two years. The Williams donation will help the team to run both remote online and face-to-face sessions across their centres serving the Northwest.
The first ever Williams & Maggie’s Made with Love recipe collection is one of the next fundraising initiatives in the 2022 calendar and will provide an opportunity for people to share recipes, donate and be featured in a digital recipe book alongside some surprise guest bakers. The Williams team are calling out for people to submit their favourite recipes to help support Maggie’s and the 700+ Williams staff members are already being encouraged to don their aprons and have some fun in the kitchen, putting together their own recipes and ingredients and bringing their cakes and bakes to work to share. Maggie’s is known for encouraging people to take time out, sit around the kitchen table, enjoy food and conversation. This Made with Love recipe collection will be packed with delicious recipes and will help raise funds by enjoying homemade treats from the book. . In addition to the recipe collection, the Williams team will be competing in a Maggie’s Queens Jubilee Bake Off taking place on Friday 27th May with staff providing dishes to sell to staff and customers with proceeds going to Maggie’s.
Margaret Orton Williams, Chairman of the company, says, “As a keen baker, I know the joy that baking and sharing good recipes can bring. I’m known for baking over 700 mince pies for our staff each Christmas which I thoroughly enjoy. Now I’m looking forward to launching our Made with Love recipe book and trying out those recipes uploaded to our website to feature in the ultimate collection.”
Jessica Ruth, Maggie’s Centre Fundraiser Manchester, added: “We are truly grateful for the amazing fundraising work that Williams is undertaking and the creativity at all times of the year is very much appreciated. One in two people will develop cancer at some point and our service spans everything from financial and benefits advice through to help with how to share cancer news with family members. Fundraising by companies such as this is vital to help us deliver our services and we are delighted that they raised £21k in 2021 and that their creative calendar of fundraising events continues into 2022.”
