In the Community
At Gatehouse Bank, we are committed to giving back. We do this through corporate giving, volunteering and staff fundraising.
At Gatehouse Bank, we are committed to giving back. We do this through corporate giving, volunteering and staff fundraising.
2024
Following a colleague vote, our chosen charity of the year for 2024 is the Bone Cancer Research Trust. Our colleagues voted overwhelmingly in favour of this charity. It is a cause close to their hearts, and their passion drives our fundraising efforts.
The Bone Cancer Research Trust is the leading charity dedicated to fighting primary bone cancer. Their mission to save lives and improve outcomes for people affected by primary bone cancer resonates with our commitment as an ethical bank to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of good health and wellbeing for all.
In previous years, we have exceeded our fundraising targets so this year, we're aiming even higher. Our ambitious goal for 2024 is to raise £20,000. By supporting Bone Cancer Research Trust, we can directly contribute to groundbreaking research, patient information, and vital support services.
Colleagues from across the business are encouraged to get involved and fundraise in fun and creative ways. Whether it's taking on challenge events like runs and treks, organising bake sales, or even facing their fears with skydives, every effort counts.
Join us in this important journey. Together, we can create hope, raise awareness, and drive change.
2023
In 2023, Gatehouse Bank’s Charity of the Year was the Rainbow Trust and our colleagues worked hard to fundraise for the charity, raising over £15,000 to support its vital work in supporting families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Rainbow Trust provides practical and emotional support for these families, supporting the entire family through measures such as listening to their fears, keeping a child company during hospital stays, and organising activities for the child who is unwell and their siblings.
“We are proud to have supported a fantastic charity, Rainbow Trust, over the last year, and I am especially pleased to see the dedication colleagues have shown in actively organising their own fundraising efforts. Thanks to our colleagues, we collectively have raised £15,500 and hope that our contribution has made a difference to Rainbow Trust and the families they support.”
Charles Haresnape, CEO of Gatehouse Bank
Elodie Pinn, Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser at Rainbow Trust said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Gatehouse Bank for raising £15,500 in support of Rainbow Trust over the last year. Their efforts raising money and awareness is greatly appreciated, raising enough to support seven families caring for a seriously ill child for a whole year.”
Our Charity of the Year for 2023 was Rainbow Trust
Our Executive Team - Usman Chaudry, Paul Stockwell, Mohaimin Chowdhury, Danesh Mahadeva, Tracey Bailey and Joanna Collings - took part in the Thames Moonlight 10 Walk, a looped 10km walk through the heart of London.
A group of eager colleagues challenged themselves to take part in The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. Our colleagues who took part were Stacey Watson, Usman Chaudry, James Kerton, Thomas Humphries, Daniel Webley, Paul Giles and Lee-Anne Harrison. A big well done to the team who completed the 25 mile circular trek!
Well done to Priya Satish, our Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Lead, who spent time over the summer creating handcrafted, rainbow-inspired bracelets to give to colleagues in exchange for sponsorship money for the Rainbow Trust.
Our colleagues from the Gatehouse Investment Management team challenged themselves to run the Hampton Court Palace half marathon. Despite the rain, the team who were Edward Marsden, John Coles, Florian Graham-Watson and George Lindsay, ploughed through and finished the course.
Our Marketing Manager Zoe Sopper participated in the Saffery Rotary Walk to raise funds. She trekked 39 miles around the island of Guernsey in one day!
2022
We are proud to have supported food redistribution charity, FareShare, as the Bank’s Charity of the Year for 2022 and the brilliant work this charity does to address food waste and hunger.
In the UK, 8.4 million people are struggling to afford to eat and at the same time, enough good food for 1.3 billion meals goes to waste each year, contributing to climate change. FareShare’s innovative approach takes surplus food and gets it to people who need it.
Throughout the year, the Bank’s staff engaged in numerous fundraising efforts, managing to raise over £10,000 in aid of FareShare.
Our 2022 Charity of the Year was FareShare
Roger Evans, Thomas Humphreys, Rachel Hunter and Paul Jones fundraised by challenging themselves to walk a combined total of one million steps.
Our colleague, Ben Pearce-Fulker, completed the 5K Forest Runner 2022 at Salcey Forest to fundraise for FareShare.
Our Head of Acquisitions, John Coles, ran the Budapest Marathon in under 3 hours 30 minutes!
Our CEO, Charles Haresnape, virtually rowed the English Channel in 2 hours and 48 minutes in aid of FareShare!
A group of colleagues from the Customer team embarked on the Jubilee Walk to fundraise for FareShare.
Colleagues in our London office took part in a bingo fundraising tournament.
2021
Our colleagues selected Centrepoint as Gatehouse Bank’s 2021 Charity of the Year because of the fantastic work this leading charity does to support social mobility and access to housing in the UK. From housing and health to learning and engagement, Centrepoint helps vulnerable young people move on from homelessness and build a future they can believe in.
Our 2021 Charity of the Year was Centrepoint
Sleep Out
Our colleagues swapped beds for sleeping bags at Centrepoint’s Sleep Out in November, so that homeless young people can wake up to change.
Chiltern Hills Challenge
In September 2021, colleagues from across the Bank were delighted to take part in the Chiltern Hills Challenge, walking 25km and raising over £3,900 for Centrepoint.
Pizza making challenge
With the help of Pizza Pilgrims, our colleagues enjoyed the challenge of baking margherita pizzas from scratch, virtually with each other in June and donated to Centrepoint to participate. Our pizzas may not have been the best looking, but they were sure delicious!
Marching out in March
In March, our colleagues marched out to raise money for young people. Our colleagues collectively walked 16 million steps for Centrepoint’s Move in March fundraising challenge. Check out some creative snaps of the Gatehouse logo out and about on their walks.
Gatehouse says “thank you”
In February, the Bank launched its online thank you platform, where colleagues can send a thank you e-card to anyone in the bank to show their appreciation while we are working remotely. The Bank donated £5 to Centrepoint for every thank you card sent.
2020
Our community approach throughout the difficulties of 2020 aimed to be local and responsive. We are proud to be part of a responsible banking community responding to the needs of society during Covid-19, providing flexible support for any customers facing financial hardship and supporting our local NHS trusts with donations during the crisis and time off for colleagues to donate blood.
Our Charity of the Year for 2019/20 was Macmillan Cancer Support. Our committed colleagues ran marathons, hosted bake sales, participate in quizzes — and more — to raise vital funds to support Macmillan’s work providing specialist health care and advice for those suffering from cancer.
After the success of our first virtual quiz, Gatehouse colleagues got together in Autumn again for Macmillan Cancer support. It was a hugely popular and we had a record of 16 teams participate!
We wanted to make sure our 2020 Charity Partner Macmillan received vital funding during lockdown so hosted a virtual fundraising quiz with staff from all our offices.
Colleagues in our Milton Keynes office dust off their aprons for the Macmillan Coffee morning to eat cake and donate!
Colleagues in our London office tuck into delicious baking for the Macmillan coffee morning.
Every year, 164,782 people in the UK die from Cancer. To show their support, our Marketing and Comms team challenged themselves to fundraise and walk 18,309 steps each – completing a combined total 178,082 steps in a day.
Gatehouse CEO Charles Haresnape with Dave from Macmillan, at our 2019 summer event – an all staff fundraising sports day.
Ramesh from Gatehouse fundraising for Macmillan at the South Coast Challenge.