Magical Exeter money experts turn £50 into nearly £7k for children’s hospice

There is a new team of entrepreneurs topping the 2018 Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) £50 Challenge leaderboard.

Financial experts at Prydis clearly have all the right skills when it comes to maximising investments – a team from the Exeter branch has turned £50 into £6,765 for the charity, which provides respite for families of children with life-limiting conditions throughout the South West.

The team is the latest to take up the CHSW corporate challenge, beating this year’s previous best set by Exeter engineering firm WSP.

And the Prydis team has also set an all-time record for the most money raised since the challenge began in 2013, surpassing the impressive £5,772.40 set by Exeter-based Old Mill Accounts and Financial Planners in 2014.

Paul White, Prydis group compliance director said: “We pride ourselves on having a hugely entrepreneurial spirit here, so knew that this kind of challenge would appeal to our staff.

“Not to mention a healthy professional rivalry, which inspired us to beat the previous record holders!”

Prydis, which provides wealth management, accounting and legal services, has chosen to support Children’s Hospice South West as its nominated charity of the year.

The team managed to turn an initial £50 investment into more than £6,000 by holding dress-down days, a bake-off style competition and the ability to buy ‘proper’ coffees, such as lattes and cappuccinos.

They also took part in a ‘gruelling’ sponsored bike ride from the firm’s London office.

“We have further fundraising planned, including a raffle and a sponsored waxing of some of the very hairy members of our male staff, but we couldn’t cram the activities into the three-month period,” added Paul.

“It’s great fun and generates a good team spirit and morale, with activities taking place in, and out of, work time.”

The £50 challenge is open to all businesses and Paul recommends planning ahead to ensure a schedule of activities.

“It’s also a good idea to form a committee as there’s a lot of work for one person to do,” he said.

“And try to ensure you have a broad base of donors – however well-intentioned, people can get a bit fatigued with repeated requests for donations.”

For more information about the £50 Challenge, which is this year sponsored by Old Mill Accounts and Financial Planners, visit www.chsw.org.uk/event/50-challenge