The Spirit Ventures group of companies, which is headquartered in Worcestershire, is undertaking a sponsored charity walk this spring to celebrate a landmark year while supporting two local charities.
The ‘Walk 20 for 20’ event is being organised by the diverse business to celebrate 20 years since its first venture, national health and safety training company, First Response Training, was established in July 1997.
The sponsored 20th anniversary walk will take place on Saturday 13th May, beginning at the group’s most recent addition to its portfolio, The Seven Stars in Ledbury, and ending at their other hospitality venue, The Angel Inn Hotel in Pershore, where their main company offices are based.
Starting in the morning, and taking in local landmarks and beauty spots around the Malvern Hills, such as the Worcestershire Beacon, it will span roughly 20 miles.
To ensure their efforts are all for a good cause, Spirit Ventures staff will be undertaking the walk to raise money for two local charities, one based in Ledbury and the other in Pershore.
Salter’s Hill, based in Ledbury, provides care, support and opportunities to over 100 people with disabilities. With their team of 100 staff and volunteers they aim to develop the independence, confidence and wellbeing of adults with learning disabilities through community support, accommodation services and Creative Learning Activities.
Julie Newman, a fundraiser at Salter’s Hill, said: “Salters Hill have enjoyed a long relationship with First Response Training and Advantage Accreditation Ltd – another Spirit Ventures subsidiary – who provide training courses and assessment for the charity.
“We are delighted to have been chosen by Spirit Ventures as one of their supported charities for their 20 year celebration.”
Meanwhile, Pershore Riverside Youth Centre has a long history and close relationship with the Spirit Ventures group and was a natural choice for their second charity. A community facility which relies on the support of volunteers and funding from activities and donations, it provides positive activities, support and guidance for young people.
Spirit Ventures is the parent company for First Response Training and Consultancy Services Limited (FRT), Advantage Accreditation Limited, Spirit Hospitality Limited, which manages The Angel and The Seven Stars, and Spirit Construction Limited.
Started by local entrepreneur Darren Eden when he founded FRT 20 years ago, it has grown from strength to strength and continued to diversify, now employing a large number of people from within the local area as well as across the rest of the UK.
Darren Eden, Chief Executive of Spirit Ventures, said: “Our 20th year in business is a significant milestone and an achievement that I and the whole team are very proud of.
“We want to celebrate this anniversary but also make a difference to some really great causes. It has always been extremely important to me, and the rest of my team, that we give something back to the local community and help to support charities where we can.”
For details of how you can donate to the Walk 20 for 20 charity event, visit the group’s social media channels, websites or their fundraising pages at the following links:
For Salter’s Hill, you can donate funds by visiting the Justgiving website at this link.
For Pershore Riverside Youth Centre, you can donate funds by visiting the Virgin Money Giving website at this link.
FRT would ideally like funds to be split as evenly as possible between the two charities, as far as this can be achieved.
For more information, please contact FRT on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail enquiry to [email protected].