Demelza

Climbing Kilimanjaro for Demelza

November 4, 2022By

Axis’ Walter Shave recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro raising a fantastic £2,500 for Demelza and First Halesworth Scout Group.

The two-week expedition, which was completely self-funded by the team, took just over two weeks to complete and created memories to last a lifetime.

Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is the African continent’s highest peak at 5895m (19,340ft) and is the highest free-standing mountain above sea level worldwide.

The team started off by climbing up two smaller peaks nearby to acclimatise to the altitudes. And then it was time for the main event! The climb up Mt Kilimanjaro started after additional training in the rainforest.  Every day Wally and his team climbed a total of 1000m which is the equivalent of Mount Snowdon!

On the summit day, they woke up at 1am to reach the top just in time for sunrise. Wally reports: “We noticed that we were struggling a lot to physically move due to the lack of oxygen at that altitude, our average speed was 1.2km per hour! It was hard to believe that our oxygen levels went down to an astonishing 70%. When you are at sea level, if your oxygen levels go down to 92% you need to be rushed to A&E! The last 250m we walked through glaciers to reach the summit which were incredible: planes were flying below us! Once we reached the summit it was a feeling of such achievement and joy surrounded by amazing views and a beautiful sunrise, we will cherish that moment for our lifetime!”

For his scout group, First Halesworth Scout Group, the money raised will help fund an annual scout trip to Scotland or Switzerland for less fortunate members. For Demelza, the money will help to ensure every child and young person who has a serious or terminal condition receives the care and attention they need to live the most fulfilling life they can.

“Young people are our future! If I can make a small but meaningful contribution to both these fantastic organisations by giving up some of my time and sweat, then it’s a win win all round.”

Read more about our precious partnership with Demelza here.

And there’s more about how we helped First Halesworth Scouts here

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Demelza

Axis team raises £10,600 for Demelza

October 20, 2022By

Our Axis team raised £10,600 for our charity partner Demelza Hospice Care for Children on a sponsored cycle ride.

Axis’ Lee Covington, Lee Pearce, Leslie Crabbe, Jake Thomas, and Elliot Pillin cycled from London to Paris in 24 hours to raise funds for our charity partner.

The Axis team, who work in the Projects Division, cycled a total of 180 miles, starting at Trafalgar Square in London, then heading for Newhaven and over to Dieppe, and finishing at the Eiffel Tower.

They smashed their target of £10,000, raising £10,600 all of which will be donated to our charity partner, Demelza via the Axis Foundation.

Our generous subcontractors sponsored the ride and their logos were proudly emblazoned on our cyclists specially-commissioned kit. With special thanks to…

  • Adeva Home Improvements Ltd
  • A-Z Stone Repairs Ltd
  • Britelite Windows Limited
  • E&C Construction Ltd
  • Exterior Plas Ltd
  • Genesis Incorporated Ltd
  • Granville Noise Insulators Limited
  • Heron Joinery
  • Masons Scaffolding
  • Rich Demolition Limited
  • Russell Trew
  • Symphony Windows
  • Ultimate Access Solutions LTD
  • VH Electrical (UK) Ltd

… and a big thank you to everyone else who supported our team and helped Demelza too.

You can still support them here 

Here’s what the team had to say:

“Since having my young son Ellis, it has made it more apparent what a great job Demelza do… this bike ride was a good way to raise money to help support the charity in the fantastic work they carry out”-  Lee Covington

“The ride was full of emotions what kept me going was Axis team and the help we were giving to Demelza” – Leslie Crabbe

“It was an experience that I will never forget, although it was hard it was worthwhile for the money that was raised to support the Axis Foundation and the fantastic causes” – Lee Pearce

“It was the best and hardest experience of my life so far; it was only possible with the great team of people around me at Axis!” – Jake Thomas

“Our joint effort raised a substantial amount of money, which will hopefully go a long way to help those less fortunate” – Elliott Pillin

There’s more about our precious partnership with Demelza here

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Demelza

Precious Partnership with Demelza

July 8, 2022By

The Axis Foundation is proud of our precious partnership with Demelza Hospice for Sick Children. In our 13-year history, the Foundation has donated £707,000 to Demelza.

Our donation of £6,000 to Demelza was one of our Foundation’s very first donations. And when our Foundation’s donations reached an impressive total of £2m (July 2022) we were delighted to present Demelza with a cheque for £89,000 which marked our £2m Moment.

Like all good friends… we share some history

Our friendship with Demelza goes back nearly 20 years – all the way to 2004. We had formed a charity partnership even before the Foundation was born.

  • Our parent company Axis supported Demelza’s Bricks and Water appeal creating a Hydrotherapy Centre and two new bedrooms for teenage patients meanwhile refurbishing two existing bedrooms at their Sittingbourne hospice, Kent
  • Axis also contributed to building a new hospice in Eltham in south east London. Olympic champions and Demelza vice presidents Jayne Torvill and Robin Cousins opened the new premises in 2009. Celebrating the first anniversary of the Eltham hospice in 2010, our people joined Demelza supporters, nurses, children and their families at the ‘polka dot tea party’.

Like all good friends, we share some major triumphs

And yes, like all good friends we share great sadness too

When Liam and Amy Hayes’ son Benjamin Jeffrey John Hayes was born in 2019 and suffered brain damage during birth, the family took Benjamin to Demelza where, as Liam says:“They helped us make happy memories, even at the toughest time our family has ever been through.” You can read Benjamin’s story here.

We Axis people love Demelza

Axis people are in their element – snow, ice, water, air, mud – when we are fundraising for our charity partner Demelza. Tough Mudder challenges, cycling to Paris, swimming, boxing, flying, running, climbing in the Arctic, walking hundreds of miles, dancing, baking, eating (even not eating) – there’s no stopping us when it comes to raising funds for Demelza and the Axis Foundation. There’s more about our challenges here

Our clients, suppliers and subcontractors too have generously given at our golf days and charity ball to support both charities.The Axis Foundation’s Winter Appeal 2021 raised £75,000 for Demelza thanks to Axis people, our suppliers and subcontractors. And our 2021 Charity Ball raised a whopping £340,000 for the Axis Foundation’s small, local and impactful charities – including Demelza.

Map Matching

Foundation Funding Focus is mainly on the areas where our parent company Axis Europe works to make social housing properties safe and comfortable for residents: in London and the South East and Essex. Demelza offers hospice care in Kent and South East London, as well as helping families across the South East.

Money donated

All the money we raise goes into Demelza’s Adopt a Nurse programme, which brings a nurse full-time for one year. As well as visiting the children at the Hospice, the nurses also see their families at home to help with medication and physiotherapy as well as aid the parents in their time of need.

£100 buys nine hours of nursing care for a child with a life-limiting illness at Demelza.

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Winter Appeal Thank You in child's handwriting with hearts and starsDemelza

Foundation’s Winter Appeal for Demelza raises £75,000

January 22, 2021By

The Axis Foundation’s Winter Appeal for Demelza raised £75,000 for our friend and charity partner Demelza Hospice Care for Children.

Axis people, our suppliers and subcontractors raised £44,139.46. The Axis Foundation donated an additional £30,860.54. The Axis Foundation was delighted to present a cheque for £75,000 to Demelza in January 2021.

Thank you from Demelza

“Christmas was made all the more magical this year at Demelza by the incredible news that our good friends at Axis had made an incredibly vital donation of £75,000 to support children with serious or terminal conditions.

“This of course wouldn’t have been possible without all you truly wonderful people working directly at Axis, and of course to all the subcontractors and suppliers who went that extra mile to get involved too. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of people like yourselves. Every single penny that was raised really does make such an incredible difference to those under our care.

“To put this amount into perspective, £75,000 is the equivalent of over 1,531 hours of expert, daytime care for a child or young person with a serious or terminal condition at one of our hospices or the cost of funding two specialist nurses for an entire year at Demelza.

“This pandemic has changed everything, but thanks to people like yourselves keeping our doors open, we can continue to be there for families when they need us.

“To each and every one of you who have taken part in this incredible Axis Foundation Winter Appeal for Demelza campaign, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of our Demelza Family” – Lila Dowie, Head of Corporate Partnerships and Trusts at Demelza

There’s more about the Axis Foundation and Demelza here.

A very big thank you from us all at Axis and the Axis Foundation to…

Alandale Plant & Scaffolding Limited, Ardleigh Improvements Ltd, Bellamy Surveying Consultancy Services, BJL Electrical, Butler Young Associates, Camview Security Ltd, Compliant Scaffold Solutions, CV Library, DMD Contracts Ltd, DMG Office Supplies, Embassy Site Services UK Ltd, Estec Engineering, Faithorn Farrell Timms, Furness Partnership, Holdgate Electrical, Howells, ICD London Solutions, Integral Environmental Solutions Ltd, Intex Facades, Lindfield Electrical Services, London Fire Solutions, M&M Moran, M&R, Mark Building Maintenance Ltd, Mastacab SE Ltd, MC Builders, Miranda Double Glazing Ltd, New Millennium Scaffolding, New Tech Roofing Ltd, Paramount Scaffolding, Parish Print Consultants Ltd, PEP Ltd, PGM Maintenance Ltd, Pro-Thor, Rich Demolition Ltd, ROCC Housing Technology Solutions, Rose Construction Essex Ltd, Russell Trew Ltd, SEI Contractor Ltd, Stakot, Sureclose Group, Teco Interiors, Travis Perkins, TW Drainage, VH Electrical, Vinyl Creations Limited, Warrens Roofing

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Close up of parents and babyDemelza

Benjamin’s story by Liam Hayes

December 7, 2019By

Liam and Amy Hayes’ son Benjamin Jeffrey John Hayes was born on Sunday 12th May 2019 and sadly passed away 10 days later.

This is Benjamin’s story, told by Liam:

“I know many of you will have heard our news because you’ve been overwhelmingly supportive and caring, it’s been felt by both Amy and myself and is hugely appreciated. But I wanted to tell Benjamin’s story because I’m still a proud dad and also because it highlights the importance of charities like Demelza, who Axis supports through our Foundation.

“After a healthy pregnancy we arrived at the hospital excited about the birth and ready to meet our little boy. But our joy turned to concern when the midwifes discovered Benjamin’s heart rate had dropped in the final stages of labour and despite the best efforts of the midwifery team, the lack of oxygen being delivered his organs had left him with severe brain damage.

“Benjamin was transferred to the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit in Medway where the doctors and nurses gave him the very best care they could in the hopes of reversing some of the damage done to his brain.

“Very sadly this is something that cannot be predicted in babies and there is no reason as to why it happens. It is all out of anyone’s control. We now know that 3 in 1000 babies are affected by HIE during labour or at birth.

“Benjamin fought hard but despite his courage and determination his brain condition wasn’t going to improve and his little head just wouldn’t tell him to breathe.

“After the medical teams had done all that they could, we took Benjamin to Demelza. They helped us make happy memories, even at the toughest time our family has ever been through.

“We had a teddy bears’ picnic in the garden with Benjamin’s grandparents, aunties and uncles. We held Benjamin whilst we all had tea and cake and listened to music.

“When it was the right time for Benjamin to fall asleep, it was so calm and peaceful. Benjamin didn’t suffer any pain during his short life which gives us some comfort.

“During the darkest days the wonderful staff at the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit and Demelza provided support and comfort.

I felt it was important to share this because we’ve had so much support from friends at Axis and the Hospices, Amy and I wanted the chance to say a huge heartfelt thank you to you all.”

Thanks to the generosity of our guests and the people of Axis, the Axis Foundation’s annual charity ball in 2019 raised a record breaking amount for Demelza and the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit. More about the charity ball here

More about Oliver Fisher Neonatal unit here

More about Axis and Demelza here

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Demelza Award for Arctic Challenge Extreme fundraising trekDemelza

Prize for Chilly Challengers!

November 23, 2018By

The Axis Arctic Challenge team wins coveted Demelza Business Prize for their extreme fundraising adventure on behalf of our charity partner

The Axis Arctic Challengers raised funds for Demelza Children’s Hospice by braving the cold, heat and dangers of the Arctic. They conquered Mount Kebna – dizzy heights indeed!

The challengers are Christopher Houlihan, Gary Perfect, Philip Twin John Bull and Daniel Blake. Through the hardships of snow, heat, dizzy fits, thirst and hunger, they said that what kept them going was remembering the children for whom Demelza cares.

This was reward in itself for the challengers. But they were delighted to learn that their supreme efforts scooped them Demelza’s Bespoke Fundraising Event of the Year Award – We were also nominated for the Silver Outstanding Corporate Supporter Award!

The judges said

Announcing our win, the judges said that our team “took on a tremendous challenge… They hit extreme and unexpected weather, even causing them hallucinations! But they battled through and completed their trek. Very worthy award winners.”

We said

Our Arctic Five said: “We are so pleased that Demelza gave us this award. We pushed ourselves to a place we did not know existed. We kept thinking about the kids at Demelza. We had a hard few days. Their entire life is hard. We got a real sense of achievement.”

Our Community Investment Coordinator Kellie Durey said: “We cannot thank Demelza enough for our nominations and the big win: it is lovely to see that our support is both appreciated and recognised.”

Congratulations to the Axis Arctic Challengers for their extreme fundraising efforts!

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Five Men on summit of Arctic Mountain for Demelza Arctic Challenge FundraiserDemelza

Axis Arctic Challenge

August 17, 2018By

Chilly Challengers Fly the Flag for Demelza on Arctic Fundraiser

Well done to the Axis Arctic Challengers who went all the way to the top of Mount Kebna in the Arctic Circle – raising funds for our Axis Foundation charity partner Demelza

The Chilly Challenge

Axis people Christopher Houlihan, Gary Perfect, Philip Twin John Bull and Daniel Blake decided they would take on the chilly challenges of the Arctic Circle to raise money for Demelza Children’s Hospice, the charity partner of both Axis and the Axis Foundation  supporting children with life-limiting illnesses.

The Adventure Begins!

On the first leg of their Arctic Challenge fundraiser, the team arrived at base camp on the first night – in great spirits if a little burnt and tired! The following day they went from 25 degrees C to minus 10; sweltering heat to hail and glaciers; hot rocky terrain to waist-high snow drifts; suffering cramp, dizziness painful injuries and bearing heavy kit: our Arctic Challengers certainly had to dig deep to reach the heights.

Would they do it again?

In total the Arctic Challenge fundraiser provided £10,000 for Demelza. They said:

“Yes, without a doubt we would do it again. We got a real sense of achievement. We pushed ourselves to a place we did not know existed. Throughout the Arctic Challenge fundraiser, we kept thinking about the kids at Demelza. We had a hard few days. Their entire life is hard. The money we raised will make a difference.”

An exclusive extract from the diary of the Arctic Challenge Team

“No sooner had we left the first valley did our fears become reality, a storm, fearsome freezing winds, hail & snow coming straight at us and whilst we needed to descend quickly our only route back was up into another valley totally exposed and heading into the storm. There was no safe opportunity for photos here. We stuck to what rockery we could but then found open snow to cross, increasing in distance as visibility was so poor and with the weather worsening all the time – thunder and lighting now!

“No option but to continue we pushed and pushed, falling down in snow or twisting ankles on rocks, with one of us even becoming stuck and needing to be dug out! The valley seemed endless and the weather relentless, progress was perilously slow. We were wet, cold through and totally exposed and our gear barely sufficient for such conditions!

“Eventually we began to descend and with it the hail and snow became rain and the wind lessened to allow us look up, what we saw was a long valley and 6 wet cold hikers! Kebna had broken us but not beaten us!”

Axis would like to thank the following for their support, sponsorship and pledges:
Advanced Drains, Camview Security, Clearline, D&D Plumbing & Electrical, Danacom Ltd, Hallowell Electrical, Hydrotech, Leander Services, M&R Ltd, Paul Grindley, Pump Practitioners, PV Electrical, Raysaleccy, Rob Mellish, Roofmaster, SH Plumbing, Synergy and W&K Interiors.

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Demelza

Top DJ Dave Berry accepts second cheque for Demelza 2016

July 7, 2016By

Capital Radio DJ Dave Berry accepted a cheque for £75,000 from Peter Varney, Chairman of the Axis Foundation, on behalf of Demelza Children’s Hospice at the hospices premises in January 2016.

Demelza is Axis’ charity partner; both the parent company Axis, and the Axis Foundation are long-term and loyal supporters of the hospice.

Peter Varney thanked the Capital DJ saying: “It is always a very moving experience to visit the Demelza Children’s Hospice and you cannot fail to be humbled by the fantastic and caring work they do. Axis people have played a huge role in organising fundraising activities to support Demelza and deserve enormous credit for this achievement.”

This is the second time Dave Berry, Demelza’s patron has accepted a Foundation cheque from us. We are delighted to have such capital support!

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Demelza worker and child at Demelza Hospice Care for ChildrenDemelza

We Win Special Supporter Award and donate £32,000 to Demelza

April 13, 2016By

Axis Foundation wins Demelza’s Special Award: Outstanding Long-Term Supporter 2016

The Axis Foundation has presented a cheque for £32,000 to Demelza Hospice Care for Children to assist them in continuing to care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. The money was raised through an annual charity ball, corporate donations and the fundraising efforts of Axis people across our offices who are firmly committed to supporting Demelza.

At the same time, Axis was honoured to receive the Outstanding Long Term Supporter at the recent Demelza Awards, which were set up to reward companies for supporting Demelza.
And indeed it is a long term relationship: over £500,000 has been given to the children’s charity through Axis and the Axis Foundation since Axis was in its infancy.

Ryan Campbell, Demelza CEO, said: “We continue to be so touched by the incredible support Axis has shown Demelza over the years. I have been honoured to meet some of the staff there and thank them personally for their tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the children and families we care for. Presenting you with the Outstanding Long-Term Supporter award at the Demelza Business Awards was a chance for us to acknowledge this amazing support, both from the company as a whole, and from the many individual staff members who fundraise on our behalf.”

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3 children sit on large red chair at DemelzaDemelza

Demelza granted £75,000 in 2015 for specialist nurse care

April 20, 2015By

Charity partner receives a donation to fund more specialist care nurses.

The Axis Foundation has handed over £75,000 to the Demelza Children’s Hospice, a Kent-based children’s charity, after another year (2015) of employee fundraising and corporate donations, bringing the total amount given to the hospice through the Foundation to £250,000.

Fundraising activities have included Skydives, bake sales, participating in Demelza’s ‘Go Dotty’ week, an annual charity ball and other fun things organised by Axis’ people. Demelza Children’s Hospice, which operates in the South East area, provides care for the terminally-ill children to ease discomfort and provide support for children and their families.

Axis and the Axis Foundation adopted the hospice as their charity partner out of appreciation for their essential work with children and teenagers who, in most cases, make it to adulthood. Axis regularly challenges its people to raise money for their ‘Adopt a Nurse’ campaign in which the money raised helps to fund Demelza’s specialist care nurses’ annual salaries.

The Axis Foundation was established in 2008 and started donating in 2009 – Demelza was one of the Foundation’s first recipients. But Axis has been supporting the charity for a number of years prior to that (since 2004) and the total amount given, including money before the formation of the Axis Foundation, stands at over £500,000.

Ryan Campbell, Chief Executive of Demelza Children’s Hospice, gave his thanks to Axis: “Thank you for the incredible amount of £75,000 that Axis has raised for Demelza over the past year. Axis has really taken Demelza to its heart and has been fundraising for the charity over the last 11 years.

“The outstanding amount you have raised to date has meant that Demelza has been able to pay 13 specialist care nurses’ salaries, allowing us to provide the highest quality care possible to all of the children, young people and their families that need support across the South East. Demelza is only able to achieve this thanks to the support of our wonderful staff and volunteers and the amazing donations from organisations like Axis.”

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