Britain’s Personal Best announces initial 16 charity partners

Howard Lake | 15 October 2013 | News

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Following its first big participation weekend (4-6 October), Britain’s Personal Best has announced the first 16 charities that have committed to partnering with the 2012 legacy project.

Britain’s Personal Best encourages charities, together with schools, community groups and individuals across the UK to take part in individual and organisational challenges to achieve their own personal best. This can be sports-based but organisers encourage people to interpret it in a much wider sense, including arts, education, or enterprise.

Steve Moore, Chief Creative Officer atBritain’s Personal Best, said: “The idea behind Britain’s Personal Best is so simple, to take the notion of the ‘Personal Best’ and transition it from its current association with elite athletic accomplishment and invite everyone in the UK to achieve a ‘PB’ as part of a new national celebration of personal and communal achievement.

“For charities we wanted to find a way for them to have a real stake in the legacy of the 2012 games to amplify and celebrate the amazing work they do.”

First 16 charity partners

The Big Lottery-funded initiative is designed to enable any charity to take part and turn it into its own fundraising campaign. Each charity is likely to use it in different ways.

The first charity partners of Britain’s Personal Best are:

• Make-A-Wish Foundation UK
• Action Medical Research
• Women’s Aid
• British Youth Council
• Diabetes UK
• Leonard Cheshire Disability
• Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust
• Help Harry Help Others
• Sense
• Haven House
• Eve Appeal
• Send A Cow
• Variety, the Children’s Charity
• Ovarian Cancer Action
• Ulysses Trust
• RNIB

Sara Jane Woods, Head of Community Partnerships, RNIB said: “RNIB is delighted to be a part of Britain’s Personal Best and will be challenging our staff, volunteers and supporters to do their bit. The Big Lottery Fund has supported RNIB with a number of its projects and we are delighted to join with them to keep alive the spirit of 2012.”

Hannah Sheedy, Head of Fundraising & Marketing at The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust added: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be one of the charities involved with Britain’s Personal Best. As a charity that harnesses the power and influence of top athletes to help change and inspire disadvantaged young people, keeping the spirit of London 2012 alive is very important to us. It was so moving to hear about people’s challenges at the Britain’s Personal Best launch event last week, and we can’t wait to get more of our young people, athletes and partners involved too.”

Strategic partners

The 16 charities join Britain’s Personal Best strategic partners The Institute of Fundraising, vInspired, Groundwork, CSV (Community Service Volunteers), 21st Century Legacy, NHS Confederation, ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations), BIS (the Department of Business Innovation and Skills), and NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action).

Participation weekend

Britain’s Personal Best‘s first big participation weekend saw a number of charities and their ambassadors announce and complete some of their personal best challenges.

• TV presenter Charlie Webster announced her personal best with Women’s Aid. She plans to run 250 miles iin just one week, visiting 40 football clubs, sending the message that domestic violence has no place in football. She starts on 26 January 2014.
• Disability campaigner Martyn Sibley completed his personal best riding from John O’Groats to Lands End in his electric wheelchair. He was fundraising for Variety, the Children’s Charity, Women’s Aid and Scope.
• Fundraiser Lloyd Scott MBE climbed the stairs of London’s 4-storey Gherkin tower in a 140 lb antique diving suit for the British Heart Foundation.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.