Whilst everyone else was Christmas shopping and indulging in a mince pie or two, the Bonfire team gathered at Bedford’s embankment on Sunday 5th December in support of local charity Keech Hospice Care. Donning Santa suits and beards the team, including family, warmed up before braving the winter weather and running 5k.

Keech provides free specialist care for young people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. Their aim is to help patients enjoy the highest quality of life, while providing vital support for their family and friends throughout their loved one’s illness and in their bereavement. All of the charity’s services are offered free of charge therefore the support of the local business community is crucial.

Jason Pearce, Bonfire’s Director, commented, “This is the second year Bonfire has supported the Keech Santa run and we were incredibly impressed with 100% staff participation. All Bonfire employees were invited to an away day earlier this year as part of Bonfire’s corporate responsibility commitment and staff were incredibly passionate about this local charity, this is clearly reflected in their attendance and fundraising efforts.”

The charity aimed to raise £50,000 by attracting 500 runners. Bonfire were delighted to be able to contribute over £1,000 and plan to continue to support Keech Hospice Care in 2011.

The Bonfire Creative Intelligence team proudly supported the first ever Miracle Children fundraising event on 12th November 2010 in conjunction with The Beds Downs Syndrome Association. The evening, hosted by Paris Taylor, proved a resounding success with over £7,000 raised through ticket sales, donations and charity auction.

Miracle Children were identified as a local charity partner as part of Bonfire’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. Bonfire Directors gave each member of staff the opportunity to help shape the company’s CSR policy by recommending a charity to support at an away-day in Woburn earlier in the year. A key focus this year was to support a charity whose services could be transformed by our support.

Keeley Farrar, Admin Support, moved staff as she introduced Maisy-Anna Roberts. A close friend of Keeley’s, Paris Taylor, had a vision of launching her own charity after her experience following the news that Maisy had been born with Down’s Syndrome. We were all quite shocked to hear how little support and advice was readily available to Paris at this life-changing moment.

Following Keeley’s presentation, and a democratic vote, Miracle Children were adopted as a charitable partner and Maisy’s parents were invited to meet the Bonfire team. Following an initial consultation with Paris a fundraising event at The Swan Hotel in Bedford was highlighted as a core activity. Bonfire delivered over £1,000 of creative support (which included creation of a brand identity for the initiative and design and invites/tickets), £160 of printed collateral, £780 of management support and purchase of 10 tickets for the big night worth £350.

Despite the large venue, tickets to the event were snapped up. Lorraine Ballantyne, Business Support at Bonfire, added, “In addition to the creative, Bonfire managed to secure a number of prizes for the evening’s raffle and auction. Donations were kindly made from clients including Argos, who supplied a number of Chad Valley toys, and The Little Black Gallery, who donated signed copies of Terry O’Neills ‘Celebrity’ book. The support from the Bonfire team, clients and the local community has been incredible.”

With over £7,000 profit raised the evening proved both fun, emotional and a significant step forward for Maisy and her family. Bonfire will continue to support Paris who now aims for Miracle Children to become a registered charity in its own right.

Well it’s that time of year again when we all add a few inches, watch a whole host of television that we would have otherwise missed,

The Bonifre team at the 5k Santa run for Keech Cottage.

and wonder what happened to the year. December has come around so quickly and this is a short note to advise you of a few things.

Firstly we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and as those of you who received our Christmas mailing will be aware this year’s competition question was ‘In total, how many gifts were given in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas’. The correct answer is 364 and congratulations to Paul who is now the owner of a new Orange iPod Nano. There were a total of 35 entries, of which 10 were correct and entered into the draw.

This is a popular, well known conundrum and the answer is calculated using the following formula. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree, on the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pair tree. If you read it literally, on the second day there were 3 gifts given – both a partridge in a pear tree and two turtle doves. Then if you follow this logic throughout the song your total will reach 364. Easy.

If you missed the mailer but would still like to view the festive microsite and learn a few tricks you can click here, but please note that the draw has now closed!! We would also like to thank all our clients, suppliers and contacts for their donation choices. You raised £110 for Keech Cottage and £30 for the Forest of Marston Vale.

The Bonfire team also collectively raised £865 in the Keech Cottage 5k Santa Run on the 6th December 2009 (well done John for coming second!!) and we would like to congratulate Steve on his silly beard antics that ended on the 30th November, as seen in the Mail on Sunday, raising a further £670 for Keech Cottage. A time for giving indeed, and a very worth cause so thanks to everyone who supported us. On another note Gemma also completed a sponsored swim (22 miles in 12 weeks – distance of the channel) raising £430 for Aspire – so at least one of us will be in shape for the Christmas calories!!!

On a slightly more serious note, and for your reference, we will be closing our doors at 1pm on the 24th December 2009 and reopening them on 4th January 2010 to start another exciting year – our 10th!!!

Once again have a great break and a wonderful New Year!

All the best

The Bonfire Team xx

On Friday the 21st August Mario Cacciottolo, founder of the website

Jason's SOTM

www.someoneoncetoldme.com, was invited by Bonfire Creative Intelligence to visit Ampthill in Bedfordshire.

www.someoneoncetoldme.com has a global following and has enjoyed much media coverage. Like all good ideas, the premise is simple: the site invites people to share something that someone once told them and lets them to tell their story. One picture per day is shown, and all are compelling.

Over 9 different organisations took part and Mario took away 14 new pictures for the website. The organisations that took part were Bonfire Creative Intelligence (an Ampthill-based branding consultancy) Leon Pearce (a Luton-based photographer), Ampthill Fireplaces, The Cooks Collection and Antiques Emporium (all in Ampthill), The Bedfordshire Humanists, Clarity in Communication Consultancy, Goodthings, Crisp Solutions, Panic, and the chef from The Prince of Wales! As for the pictures from the day – you will have to wait and see!

It was a fantastic day. The shots from the day will feature on the site over the next few months. This shows that small Bedfordshire businesses are up for taking part in community creative projects.

Do take a look at the site, and perhaps submit some of your own photos.

Steve’s SOTM
Jason’s SOTM
Rachel’s SOTM

And watch out for Gemma’s still to come…