A Tough Time for Charities Calls for Business Action

I recently donned my walking boots and took to the Three Peaks of Wales, namely Pen y Fan, Yr Wyddfa and Cadair Idris, to walk over 20 miles and involving a total ascent of 9,397 feet and raise much needed funds for children’s hospice Ty Hafan.

Thomas Carroll has sponsored the Ty Hafan Welsh Three Peaks challenge for more than a decade, and it’s a charity and a cause that we care very much about and so we do all we can, every year to support including taking part in this challenge.

This year it was my turn to take to the mountains and I can safely say, it was one of those experiences that really stays with you. Despite it being early June, the conditions were pretty brutal at times with relentless rain, low visibility, high winds and just generally tough going underfoot but in a way that made it even more memorable.

It really stripped things back to resilience, teamwork and just putting one foot in front of the other – literally!

But what stood out most for me was the camaraderie. Everyone was in it together, supporting each other through the tougher moments whether that was pacing the climbs, keeping spirits up when energy dipped, or just having a bit of a laugh when things got particularly grim. A standout moment was how excited we all got after handful of skittles each – a true sugar rush when we needed it most.

When you are doing a challenge like that with your colleagues, you quickly realise that it’s not about individual performance, it’s about collective effort, and we had fun. Luckily for us we were joined by Tori James (the first Welsh woman to climb Everest) who was so kind and supportive and helped lots of us get to the top of each of the three mountains.

And then there was the Ty Hafan team at the end, that reception is hard to put into words. After everything we as a group had pushed through, to come down and be met with that level of support, encouragement and gratitude was incredibly emotional. It also helped that there was a fish and chip van waiting for us at the bottom of Pen Y Fan too – you could smell those chips for miles!

From a Thomas Carroll perspective, events and charitable endeavours like this are a huge part of who we are. There’s a genuine belief across the business that giving back isn’t a ‘nice to have’ it’s part of our responsibility as a business in the communities we serve. Whether that’s fundraising, volunteering, or using our skills to support organisations, it’s embedded in our culture.

I think that’s even more important in the current climate. We all know it’s a really challenging time for the third sector, demand is increasing, funding is under pressure and charities are being asked to do more with less. But that’s exactly why the role of local businesses matters.

Not every business can take on something like the Three Peaks, but there are so many ways to get involved:

• Supporting local charities through partnerships, not just one-off donations. We support things like the local food bank, Young Enterprise and so much more.
• Giving colleagues the time and encouragement to fundraise or volunteer. Everyone at Thomas Carroll is given a day to go and volunteer for a cause of their choice.
• Using professional expertise to support charities and that could be financial, operational or strategic.
• Raising awareness and helping amplify the incredible work these organisations do.

The Three Peaks challenge really brought all of that together. It was tough, it was messy at times, but it was also genuinely inspiring and a really powerful reminder of what can be achieved when people come together for a shared cause.