Our Charitable Work in 2015

We would like to start by saying a huge thank you to you all for supporting us with all of our charitable endeavours over the past year – every order that you place with us helps us towards reaching our charitable goals.

As we discussed in our blog last year, Cytoplan is wholly owned by a charitable foundation and each year we look to do us much as we possibly can to raise money for different causes on an international level. In this week’s article we thought it would be a fitting end to our blog’s for this year to give you an insight into some of the charitable work we have partaken in throughout 2015.

AIM Foundation

The charitable foundation that owns Cytoplan is the AIM Foundation and we are a product of their ideology. They are an organisation concerned with nutrition and health projects all over the world, as well helping those less able to help themselves in various communities in the UK (e.g. the Essex Community Foundation). Here is a quick recap from last year’s blog of some of the international charitable activities that AIM have been, and still are, involved in.

Jubilee 2000

“Jubilee 2000 was a global campaign that led ultimately, to the cancellation of more than $100 billion of debt owed by 35 of the poorest countries”

The Jubilee 2000 campaign was an international coalition movement involving 40 countries, aiming to free third world debts by the year 2000. These debts were predominantly owed to three main groups: Western governments, global financial institutions and the World Bank.

By the year 2000 – when the campaign disbanded – 21 million people from 155 countries had signed the Jubilee 2000 petition, a quite incredible figure when considering the controversial subject matter of global debt. But despite the success of the petition and $100 billion in debt having been written off, the job was – and still is – far from complete.

In 2001 the jubilee 2000 campaign split into an array of organisations that look to tackle the worldwide problem of Third World debts. These organisations campaign on a global level to engage the same problems with which Jubilee 2000 were concerned.

Sustrans National Cycle Network

“Sustrans is a leading UK Charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make everyday”

The National Cycle Network is a series of cycle routes providing convenient, relaxing and sustainable transport throughout the country. The initial concept was set up in 1977 by a charity called ‘Sustrans’, with the philosophy of endeavouring “to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in the city”.

The first step in 1984 was to construct a cycle route along a disused railway path. This route ran from Bath to Bristol and its phenomenal success encouraged the formation of other routes all over the UK. The network now covers around 14,700 miles around the UK and the ‘Sustrans’ website states that the system has been a “catalyst for reversing the decline of walking and cycling for almost 20 years”.

The overall vision of the network is to see 4 out of 5 journeys being made by bike, foot or public transport by the year 2020.

Essex Community Foundation

Every county in England has some form of diversity. Although this diversity is often a positive characteristic of a society, a branch of this diversity is often inequality: where one community is affluent, another is on the verge of poverty. In Essex this is an extensive problem.

In 1996, The AIM Foundation worked alongside the CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) to start up the Essex Community Foundation; an organisation aiming to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in the county by distributing grants on behalf of a wide range of donors.

It was apparent that a charitable foundation could provide the whole county with a more thorough understanding of the vulnerability that some areas were enduring. For those who wanted to help, their donations were channelled effectively, focusing on areas that were most susceptible.

Since 1996 ECF has distributed 5000 grants totalling £20 million.

The AIM Foundation has played a pivotal role in all three of these successful campaigns described above, and many others on a global level.

Cytoplan’s Charitable work in 2015

Nepal Disaster

As you are all undoubtedly aware, on the 25th April 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal killing around 8,000 people and devastating the lives of countless more. The BBC have reported that on top of these harrowing statistics, nearly 5,000 schools were destroyed leaving an estimated 1 million children unable to return to education.

This year one of our main charitable goals has been to try and raise £7000 to help rebuild one of the schools destroyed by this devastating earthquake. Here at Cytoplan we  held a sponsored run from our offices to the top of the Worcestershire beacon, cake sales, car boot sales and various other fundraising activities to help raise as much money as we could towards this cause – and we are pleased to inform you that this month we reached our target!

Life for African Mothers

Life for African Mothers is a Maternal Health charity aiming to make birth safer in Sub Saharan Africa, by providing medication to treat eclampsia and post-partum haemorrhage. By providing medication to treat the complications of child birth, Life for African Mothers have been able to support hospitals and health centres across Africa and see huge reductions in maternal mortality.

This year we donated folic acid supplements to the wonderful charity and these were sent to Cameroon, on the gulf of Guinea in Central Africa. From June 2015 LFAM have started to supply health centres in Cameroon with Misoprostol. LFAM now also help to supply and distribute vitamins, essential in the development of healthy pregnant women and their babies.

Operation Christmas Child

As we do every year – Cytoplan took part in the ‘operation Christmas child’ which is a cause providing children from less fortunate countries around the world with shoeboxes filled with toys, hygiene items and school supplies.

 Local work

All year round, the office also endeavours to participate in many other fundraising activities for wonderful causes, including Red Nose Day, wear pink for breast cancer, a coffee morning for Macmillan and other bake sales and car boot sales, then most recently we had a day for Children In Need.

World Land Trust

The World Land Trust is an international conservation charity that has helped to protect over 500,000 acres of the most biologically important and threatened habitats all over the world.

Since its formation in 1989, the WLT has funded partner organisations around the world which in turn create reserves and give permanent protection to threatened habitats and their wildlife.

Cytoplan avidly support the World Land Trust. Since 2010, the WLT have used our donations for urgent land purchase and protection in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, and the critically threatened Choco Rainforests in western Colombia.

A big Thank You

Every customer who purchases our products, whether it be once, twice or ten times a year, is helping us to try and help those who are much less fortunate than ourselves. You may not realise it, but every time you buy from us, you are potentially helping someone else. We believe this is a sound business model: one that we are very proud of and one that hopefully, in time, will achieve the goals we have set ourselves, to improve the health of the nation and the rest of the world too! Our charitable work – both on a small and large scale – is testament to this.

We hope that this information has given you a small insight into the charitable structure of Cytoplan and the significant role it plays in the day to day running of the company. We hope you continue to support us in the future in whatever way you can.

Finally..A very Merry Christmas from everyone at Cytoplan!

If you have any questions regarding the health topics that have been raised, or any other health matters please do contact me (Amanda) by phone or email at any time.

amanda@cytoplan.co.uk, 01684 310099

Amanda Williams and the Cytoplan Editorial Team: Joseph Forsyth, Simon Holdcroft and Clare Daley

Last updated on 6th June 2018 by cytoffice