Company building homes near Chichester raises over £24,000 for suicide-prevention charity

The staff at the Basingstoke-based company raised a total of £24,368 which helped boost Vistry Group’s national fundraising campaign for Papyrus – a national charity aimed at the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional well-being in young people.

A golf day, which saw 23 teams taking part at Old Thorns Hotel & Resort in Liphook, raised £13,424. The day’s golfing was rounded off with an auction and raffle with prizes donated by Vistry’s sub-contractors.

A dozen members of staff tackled the Three Peaks Challenge, where people climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales ­– Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis and Snowdon – one after another within 24 hours. The efforts of the hardy hikers raised a total of £10,660 for the charity.

Papyrus is to use the money to help staff its helpline HOPELINEUK, which provides confidential support and advice to young people struggling with mental health issues.

Lucinda Box, marketing manager of Vistry Southern, said: “It was great to see just how enthusiastic, inventive and committed our staff were after it was announced we were going to be raising money for Papyrus through the 12 months of 2022.

“The golf day was the first such event we have ever staged and it was an incredible success. Everyone had a wonderful day and an impressive amount of money was raised for a good cause.

“The staff kept the fundraising ball rolling by thinking of different ways to have fun but also to collect money for Papyrus. Running a sweepstake on the World Cup made the tournament even more exciting, with Papyrus being the real winner with £72 raised during the competition.

“We are very proud that the collective efforts of the staff here at Vistry Southern saw us raise over £24,000 for Papyrus to help them carry on their incredible work in reaching out to vulnerable young people.”

Staff from Vistry Southern also participated in the national challenge Vistry Voyage, which saw employees across the divisions carrying a commemorative book of awareness 1,163 miles from the North East of England to Cornwall while travelling using different forms of human-powered transport.

The Southern region’s leg of the voyage began with an 8.5-mile walk through the Hampshire countryside from Kings Worthy to Winchester. The next day, the team kayaked up the River Itchen before cycling to Vistry’s Pembroke Gardens development in Alderbury. The final day featured a 30-mile walk and bike ride to Westbury.

The money raised by Vistry Southern went towards the £257,862 total collected by all Vistry Group divisions for Papyrus.

Earl Sibley, Vistry’s Chief Operating Officer, handed over a cheque for the total amount raised to Papyrus representatives. The charity said that the amount raised by Vistry, which was £100,000 more than the target set, made it the most successful corporate partnership to date for Papyrus.

Amanda Scott Barbera, Corporate Fundraising Manager at Papyrus, said: “The whole of Vistry Group and all their business units have been a delight to work with. Because the staff voted the charity in, everyone has been keen to get involved and the Group have been extremely generous.”