Ansaback News

All at Ansaback were very proud to present a cheque to EACH recently following a years fundraising on their behalf. The money was raised via a series of events including dress down days, coffee mornings, competitions, sweepstakes and a sale of unwanted christmas presents !  The more adventurous call centre staff took part in the very competitive Ransomes Olympics (who also won the event - go Team Ansaback !), and the Santa Fun Run round Christchurch Park in somewhat adverse weather conditions!. All of the events have been great fun and generously supported by all the staff which resulted in a total amount raised of £1090.00.  This is a tremendous achievement given the challenging climate and all staff are to be congratulated on their efforts.

The last Friday of every month equals a dress down day for staff at Ansaback, who kindly donate money to our chosen charity of the year - EACH.

EACH is an amazing charity which supports families throughout their experience of caring for children with life-threatening conditions and complex healthcare needs.

Ansaback would like pass on a massive thank you to all of their call centre staff for contributing - even the ones who forgot it was dress down and came in their usual business attire still dug deep!

So thanks once again.

If you would like any further information about EACH, please visit their website: http://www.each.org.uk/

On Sunday 14th March, Zonja Bunn (Accounts Assistant at Ansaback) competed in a half marathon (13 mile) run! Having to get up at 6 a.m. on the Sunday morning Zonja made the 3 hour drive to Silverstone Racetrack in Northampton to compete in the race.

On arrival, nervous and cold Zonja queued up to start the run in the 10 minute a mile section! The first lap of the race was around the actual race track, then off through the pit lanes, round the car parks and then round the racetrack again for the final lap finishing under the famous Silverstone sign. Zonja said “It was really hard work but I loved every minute, I hit a block at around 8.5 miles (mainly due to hunger) so to get myself back on track I changed the music on my mp3, had a protein bar and a gel stick and then I was back on full charge ”

With a finishing time of just 2 hours 13 minutes it was a fantastic achievement and she now has yet another medal to add to her collection. Zonja is competing in the London Marathon next month, Sunday 25th April.

Zonja will not be running for fun on this event, she will be raising money for Sense, a leading national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind. A very worthwhile cause and we wish her all the best for this race and look forward to hearing how she gets on.

Friday 5th March saw the return of the much loved Music OFF the Green, which took place in the Douglas Bader pub in Martlesham.

This annual event is a forerunner to the annual Music on the Green village day festival held on the green in Martlesham Heath, Ipswich.

Music OFF the Green, which has two committee members on the IPPlus staff (IPPlus being the parent company of Ansaback), Emma Noye of CallScripter and group Financial Director Stuart Gordon raises funds for local charities by providing a day of fun, entertainment and great music for all who attend.

The evening was a great success, featuring sounds from Blue Wave and Cool Remedy (of which our Stuart is a member) and raised over £180 to go towards their chosen charity for 2010, East Anglian Children’s Hospices (EACH).

The RSPCA "Biggest Animal Rescue Ever" campaign (the Donation Line), has been awarded GOLD in the Direct Marketing Association Awards for Best Business Performance or Improvement. The RSPCAs creative and media agencies won the award for their design, promotion and targeting performance, however Ansaback call centre are a big part of making this work for the RSPCA by ensuring that not only do we pick-up every call that is generated by the advertising, but more importantly that the supporters receive an excellent first impression of the charity, improving campaign results dramatically.

Ansaback call centre agents really enjoy handling the RSPCA calls as they appreciate it is for a such worthy cause and every donation really does make a difference.

After the massive earthquake (which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale) hit Haiti, the loss of life and the widespread devastation was immense. Employees in the call centre were keen to do their bit and raise some money for the HAITI appeal, so Ansaback held an impromptu dress down day on Friday 22nd January, with all participants donating money towards the appeal on the day.

Staff managed to raise a fantastic £300.00! Ansaback generously offered to double the amount donated by the staff, resulting in the total raised by the call centre and CallSctipter of £600.00!! Funds have been donated to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal. A big thank you again to all who donated - every penny helps.

Friday 2nd October saw friends, family and committee members of the Music on the Green spectacular gather for the awards presentation evening, at the Martlesham Heath Douglas Bader. The fantastic event, which took place on Saturday 11th July, drew record crowds and was a wonderful day out for everyone. The weather held out (all bar a few drops of rain) and with picnic blankets, musical celebrations and an age range of 8 to 80, it really was a day to remember for all involved. The volunteers worked tirelessly, and took to fundraising throughout the day, whether it was selling raffle tickets or rattling their collection buckets, and their hard work paid dividends. On Friday we were absolutely thrilled to be able to present EACH (East Anglian Children's Hospice) charity with a cheque for £3,000 to go towards their dedicated commitment to the children of our region. Friday was a great chance to thank all those involved and a raffle to start next year's fund took place. Everyone was also treated to the musical delights of Blue Wave, playing their distinct sound throughout the evening. Stuart Gordon, Chairman of Music on the Green, commented: "We are delighted that although costs have increased and the credit crunch has had its part to play we have been able to match last year's donation. It was a wonderful day with another enormous turnout on the Green which helped a very worthy cause." Next year it is the "3 Tenners" with the 10th Music on the Green taking place on Saturday 10th July 2010. We hope to see another incredible turnout as this year past, and it's a date to get in your diary now!

The staff pulled together during the year and through a variety of events including Dress Down Days, Abseiling, Competitions, Auctions and Raffles managed to collect well over a thousand pounds to donate to the Macmillan charity. This coming year the chosen charity is East Anglian Childrens Hospice and once again the company hope to rise to the challenge and beat last years total!!

Local company 'Ansaback' supported 5 of their employees recently when they took part in the 'Moonwalk Challenge'. The girls were given warm coats along with warm wishes by the management and all successfully completed the 26 mile walk round London through the night to raise money for Breast Cancer charity. Ansaback Angels were not surprised by the company backing as they provide all employees with free fruit on a daily basis as well as having a nominated charity that benefits annually from regular staff activities. The walk, which took approximately 7.5 hours was exhausting and emotiona l but the atmosphere created by the 18,000 women (and men!) all dressed in bra's made it a thoroughly worthwhile experience and the Angels collectively raised a heavenly £1,000.00 + for the charity! (Left to right: Lisa Carrington, Coral Amey, Jackie Powell, Cathy McClean and Sherryl Eastell)