We've given charities and worthy causes one million reasons to smile

VETPARTNERS colleagues have pulled together to raise more than £1million for worthy causes over the past 10 years.

Whether baking cakes to sell, running marathons, climbing mountains or jumping from planes, our colleagues in the UK and Ireland have joined forces to support dozens of charities and worthy causes.

Pets as Therapy, Cinnamon Trust, Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, StreetVet, Irish Guide Dogs, Guide Dogs NI and Air Ambulances UK are among the organisation to have received a much-needed financial boost after they were chosen as our annual charity of the year over the past five years.

VetPartners reached its fundraising landmark of £1million just as we celebrate our10^th anniversary on October 31^st - the day we were officially established by our CEO Jo Malone.

A team of runners from Parklands Vets took part in the Belfast half marathon

VetPartners has a £125,000 annual charity fund to part match fundraising by team members, and we also organise events such as our annual Month of Movement in May to encourage everyone to participate in activities and raise money for charities. Colleagues have clocked up thousands of hours of activity and the £183,000 raised from the Months of Movement so far has been split between seven different charities, including World Land Trust and Vetlife.

Viking Vets too part in the Bristol 10K for Cancer Research dressed as Vikings - of course!

VetPartners Head of ESG Hannah James said: “This is a wonderful milestone to meet in time for our 10^th anniversary, and a testament to the generosity and dedication of VetPartners colleagues. It’s been amazing to see the variety of ways in which people raise money for causes important to them, some of the highlights include swims across the

Channel, donating hair for children’s wigs, and cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats. But even the smallest fundraisers add up to huge impacts, as we can see from the incredible amount that we’ve donated together as a group.”

Other amazing fundraising efforts by VetPartners colleagues saw £20,000 donated to support relief efforts of International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) when the war in Ukraine broke out. Practice teams also arranged the collection of vital supplies to help the people of Ukraine.

Bourton Vale collected donations for Ukraine

Bourton Vale Equine Clinic arranged for donations of clothing, toiletries and food to be taken to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees crossing the border to safety, and VetPartners provided £3,600 to pay for three lorries to transport the much-needed supplies.

Practices also collected more than 600 pet carriers for transport to Poland by MWI Animal Health to meet the needs of refugees bringing their pets with them.

VetPartners has also supported 23 overseas charities, including the Worldwide Veterinary Service, by providing grants for vets and RVNs to carry out voluntary clinical work overseas

Vet Ella Townsend, from St Peter’s Vets, spent a week volunteering with the Worldwide Veterinary Service in the Galápagos Islands.

in 19 different countries, including Gambia, Thailand and India.

VetPartners CEO Jo Malone said: “It’s inspiring to see colleagues volunteering their time and using their skills to help animals and people in need, both in their local communities and abroad.

“The response to the volunteering grants has been fantastic, and we’ve heard from charities what a difference having skilled vets and nurses makes to the care they can provide.

"Closer to home, team members have used their volunteering days and given up their free time to so many causes, including StreetVet, conservation and training assistance animals.

“It’s so heartening to look back and see the difference colleagues have made over the last 10 years, and I’m excited to see what they achieve in the next 10.”

Article by Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director. Email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk