Our Footprint Fund helps employees with charitable and community initiatives
Footprint fund
The Footprint Fund was launched by NATS in 2008 to support our employees in the charitable and community initiatives they care most about. Any employee can apply for funding provided they give their time or fundraise for charity. Since it began, the fund has awarded 370 successful applications with over £240,000 to date.
The Footprint Fund was launched by NATS in 2008 to support our employees in the charitable and community initiatives they care most about. Any employee can apply for funding provided they give their time or fundraise for charity. Since it began, the fund has awarded 370 successful applications with over £240,000 to date.
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Bone Cancer Research Trust
Andrew is a bone cancer survivor who underwent treatment and multiple operations at just 18. Over the years Andrew has supported Bone Cancer Research Trust to others going through what he’s experienced. This year he swam the Great East Swim, a 5k open water swim in Alton Water, Suffolk and raised over £2000.
Charity name: Bone Cancer Research Trust
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Andrew Belshaw
Tranche: April 2019
Alzheimers Society
Alzheimers Society is a UK charity that campaigns for change, funds research to find a cure and supports people living with dementia today. After losing a family member to the disease in 2016, Chelsea and her family decided to support the charity by participating in Memory Walks and becoming Dementia Champions. With support from the Footprint Fund, Chelsea raised over £1000 for Alzheimer’s Society in 2018.
Charity name: Alzheimers Society
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Chelsea McMurray
Tranche: November 2018
Sarisbury CE Junior School
Ian and his wife are volunteers for the Sarisbury CE Junior School PTA. Ian applied to the Footprint Fund to help purchase new netball posts. These are for both P.E. lessons as well as after school activities and community clubs. Since purchasing the permanent posts, the school has found to allows more time for playing and less time setting up
Charity name: Sarisbury CE Junior School
Charity sector: Education
Employee name: Ian Wheatley
Tranche: November 2018
Movember
A team of Belfast engineers came together to support Movember, a charity changing the face of men’s health and addressing some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. Each team member grew a moustache in return for sponsorship and beat their £300 target by raising over £1500.
Charity name: Movember
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Rob Bennington & the Belfast engineers
Tranche: November 2018
Association for Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Disorders (AMEND)
AMEND are a small and relatively unknown charity due to the rarity of the conditions they support patients through. Nadia set herself the target of raising £1000 for their Nick Favers fund set up by his wife in his memory. She ran the Bournemouth 10k and Edinburgh Marathon, exceeding her target way before the event and went on to raise an impressive £2230.
Charity name: Association for Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Disorders (AMEND)
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Nadia Krauhaus
Tranche: November 2018
St Anthony’s Primary School
Charity name: St Anthony’s Primary School
Charity sector: School
Employee name: Jodie McMenamin
Tranche: August 2017 & April 2018
Over the two applications the Footprint Fund supported a goat house and a chicken/duck run.
Jodie McMenamin, Head of Integration Delivery for NATS and school governor at St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, said: ‘Giving them the responsibility of looking after animals is a great way for the pupils to learn new skills; you only need to see their faces light up to see how good it is for their wellbeing.’
AFC Hiltingbury U11 Hurricanes Football Team
Charity name: AFC Hiltingbury U11 Hurricanes Football Team
Charity sector: Sports and Social Clubs
Employee name: Kathy McColl
Tranche: April 2018
Kathy helped set up first U11 team for the club and now there’s 4 under 11 teams. She applied to the footprint fund to help one of the teams progress from a 9-11’s group to and 11-15’s group which involved entering a new league. In order to compete in the new league, the footprint fund helped provide a pair of larger training goals and new training equipment.
Tommy’s
Tommy’s funds research into the causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature births and provide pregnancy health information. Motivated by turning 40, Dan ran the London Marathon to support Tommy’s setting himself a £2000 target.
Despite a knee injury, Dan completed the marathon and smashed his target by raising over £5000.
Charity name: Tommy’s
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Dan Meadows
Tranche: April 2018
Dexter Sports Youth Football Club
Elliott is a volunteer referee and games organiser for the youth club. The club was struggling to keep training over the winter due to lack of suitable kit. The Footprint Fund allowed them to purchase winter jackets, footballs and new pop up goals. Elliott has seen an increased team spirit now they have team jackets and their skill level have improved now they can play more often.
Charity name: Dexter Sports Youth Football Club
Charity sector: Sports and Social Clubs
Employee name: Elliott Cook
Tranche: April 2018
Prestwick Howie Bowling Club
Julia trains with the club and helps partially sighted players. She’s also involved with a school partnership programme which helps introduce the sport to younger players. In order to remain inclusive and allow people of all abilities to play, the Footprint Fund grant was spent on bowls lifters and walking sticks. These have allowed players with limit mobility to continue training.
Charity name: Prestwick Howie Bowling Club
Charity sector: Sports and Social Clubs
Employee name: Julia Harvey
Tranche: November 2017
Cancer Relief Centre Gibraltar
Heloise and some of the team from Gibraltar tower took part in the Cancer Research Relay for Life, a 24 hour event. Their funds were used to help the charity continue to provide support services such as counselling, support groups as well as a children’s play area and a beauty room and wig styling.
The children’s play area is for both children suffering with cancer as well as for children visiting family so all members can relax.
Charity name: Cancer Relief Centre Gibraltar
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Heloise Manasco
Tranche: Nov 2017
Staffie and Stray Rescue
Nicky first came across the charity when she needed help with a lost stray dog at risk of euthanasia. Despite moving away from the charity’s base she has gone on to rescue three Staffordshire Bull Terriers herself and continues to support the charity’s work. The grant from the Footprint Fund was used to host a ‘rescue parade’ day where the public are invited to come and meet the dogs in the hope that this will help them find a new home.
Charity name: Staffie and Stray Rescue
Charity sector: Animal Welfare
Employee name: Nicky Smith-Brialey
Tranche: November 2017
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA)
Charity name: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA)
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Aamir Razzaq
Tranche: September 2017
Aamir and a team of 10 cyclist cycled 182 miles from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. He enjoyed it so much, he signed up to take part again next year!
Disability Challengers
The Footprint Fund grant provided a day of play for four disabled children, enabling them to have fun and provide their families with valuable respite care.
Lisa fundraised for Disability Challengers by taking part in RideLondon, a 100 mile bike ride through London and Surrey Hills.
Charity name: Disability Challengers
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Lisa Aldridge
Tranche: August 2017
Teenage Cancer Trust
Charity name: Teenage Cancer Trust
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Andy Edmunds
Tranche: July 2017
Andy took part in the Prudential Ride London Surrey 100 mile cycling event at the end of July 2017.
His aim was to support Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at Southampton General provides 6 in-patient beds and day care facilities by raising £1000 which would pay for the cost of all the care and support offered to young people with cancer for one hour.
CAF - Women V Cancer
Louise cycled 65 miles from Windsor racecourse to London and back again through the night. Starting at 11pm and reaching the finish line at 5:30am, the furthest she’s ever cycles without sleep!
With the help of the Footprint Fund Louise and her team raised over £3000 for a combination of woman’s cancer charities.
Charity name: CAF – Women V Cancer
Charity sector: Medical Support
Employee name: Louise Kelly
Tranche: April 2017
Ayrshire Hospice
Charity name: Ayrshire Hospice
Charity sector: Medical Care and Support
Employee name: Scott McCreath & Ross Finlayson
Tranche: 28, April 2017
Scott and Ross took part in a 12 day trek to fundraise for Ayrshire Hospice. They hiked from Lukla in the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp at a height of 17,600ft; they also climbed Kala Patthar at 18,519ft to see the view of Mount Everest and Lhotse.
They did this to fundraise for Ayrshire Hospice who provide quality care to adults with any life-limiting illness. The footprint fund donated £500 towards their fundraising efforts which so far totals over £3,600.
Knitted Knockers
Charity name: Knitted Knockers
Charity sector: Medical support
Employee name: Meriel Munro
Tranche: 27, December 2016
Meriel is a volunteer Knocker Knitter! She makes knitted cotton prostheses alternatives for ladies post mastectomy and lumpectomy for breast cancer. Some ladies find traditional prostheses uncomfortable, so knitted knockers are made from washable, breathable cotton yarn filled with soft toy filling.
Meriel applied to the footprint fund for support with Christmas demand and delivery expenses. She was awarded £500 which allowed her to send 175 orders which freed up other funds to purchase materials.
National Association of Round Tables of Great Britain & Ireland
Charity name: National Association of Round Tables of Great Britain & Ireland
Charity sector: Local interest group
Employee name: Dominic Collings
Tranche: 26, September 2016
To raise money for local children in social care in the Dunfermline area, the roundtable group organise an annual Santa’s Sleigh tow which goes door to door collecting donations.
Their old borrowed sleigh became too damaged over the years so Dominic, who has been a member of the Dunfermline Roundtable for over six years, applied to the footprint fund to help transform an old trailer into a new sleigh. She was awarded £500 and check out the result!
Ataxia UK
Charity name: Ataxia UK
Charity sector: Medical Care and Support
Employee name: Holly Edwards
Tranche: 26, September 2016
Holly took part in the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge in August 2016 to fundraise for the charity Ataxia UK in memory of a friend. Ataxia is a group of neurological disorders that affect balance, speech and coordination.
It is a typically slow progressive condition in which initial clumsiness and poor balance and co-ordination can lead to total physical disability. Her aim was to raise £1660 which is enough to run a support branch for two weeks, the footprint fund donated £500 to her fundraising efforts.
Scottish Dark Sky Observatory
Charity name: Scottish Dark Sky Observatory
Charity sector: Local interest group
Employee name: Mark Klimek
Tranche: 26, August 2016
The observatory, situated in East Ayrshire, is one of only two publicly accessible astronomical observatories located within an ‘International Dark-Sky Association’ “Gold Tier” rated Dark Sky Park worldwide. It is equipped with 2 large telescopes and a viewing deck for open air stargazing. The building is totally off-grid and is powered mainly from solar panels with the lecture room heated by a wood burning stove.
The observatory offers educational services to schools all over the world. Mark, who volunteers his time to help maintain the equipment, applied to the footprint fund as they needed to update their projector and other equipment to continue offering the high quality educational services using their mobile planetarium.
Dementia UK
Bethany entered the ‘Warrior Run’ to fundraise for Dementia UK after sadly losing her Grandfather. The 14K race includes 100 obstacles and her picture here shows Bethany carrying a tyre after she had just swam in a deep icey river, jumped over hay bales and climbed a rope net.
Somehow Bethany managed to stay determined and still enjoyed herself, the footprint fund donated £500 to her fundraising efforts which totalled over £1,300.
Charity name: Dementia UK
Charity sector: Medical Care and Support
Employee name: Bethany Rippingale
Tranche: 25, April 2016
Locksheath Pumas Rugby Club
Charity name: Locksheath Pumas Rugby Club
Charity sector: Sports Club
Employee name: Mike Flanigan
Tranche: 24, December 2015
The team’s old minibus was shared amongst other community groups and volunteers helped provide transport to matches and fundraising events not just for the rugby club. In September 2015 their bus was sadly stolen and set alight, the rugby club lost kit and the whole community lost an asset that helped bring them together.
The team set up an urgent appeal and Mike who is local to the club and previously been a user of the bus applied to the footprint fund for support. They were awarded *** and they were able to buy a shiny new bus.
Wicor Mill Primary School
Charity name: Wicor Mill Primary School
Charity sector: Community interest club
Employee name: Allan Warren
Tranche: 23, August 2015
NATS employee Allan Warren volunteered to help Wicor Mill Primary School establish an apiary and spend time with the teachers working through the syllabus and identifying activities and methods to meet the learning outcomes.
Allan has also got permission from his manager to spend 2-3 days a year taking classes and workshops, and also gives two hours on a weekend maintaining the facility.
Allan commented: “Many companies help schools out of self-promotion, but this really is all about the school and the children. The Footprint Fund has even funded six beekeeping suits for the kids. It’s very satisfying to have the company behind me on this and the school really appreciates it.”