Buddies Bag a Bike

Well actually it was a Trike but it didn't work quite as well as a headline ;o)

After the success of the recent Foundation Rides the Up and Under Group have donated a specialist tricycle to the Cheshire Buddies through the Up and Under Foundation. This means that disabled children at Central Cheshire Buddy Scheme can now all get on their bikes while at the club.

Youngsters with the new trike

Stephanie Lawley, one of the Buddies leaders said

 ‘The bike is a fantastic gift. We have a number of young people who do not have a bike at home so when they come to club on a Saturday, in Shavington, they just love riding around the centre.  This is a great gift and we thank Up and Under for their support’..

Cheshire buddies is a voluntary community group which supports children and young people with disabilities to access a range of fun activities they would not normally have the opportunity to be involved with. 

If you would like more information about Cheshire Buddies contact Stephanie Lawley on 07873423389. Or visit www.cheshirebuddies.co.uk

Up and Under Highly Commended

Our active involvement in the Community has been recognised with The Up and Under Group being Highly Commended in the 2013 North West Building Stronger Communities Impact Award in the Annual  Business in the Community Awards.  This follows the Corporate Social Responsibility Award which they won earlier in the year in the High Sheriff’s Awards for Enterprise.

Read more here Link

Stephen Howard, Business in the Community’s Chief Executive said: “The Responsible Business Awards shine the spotlight on an aspect of business that very rarely gets much public recognition – and that is its ability and willingness to truly transform lives, communities and society for the better. I congratulate The Up and Under Group, which recognises that it is part of a movement of companies creating value by living their values. We hope their example will inspire many more businesses to put responsible behaviour at the heart of how they do business.”

Our commitment to making a positive difference is founded on the work we do in physical asset management, providing inspection and maintenance of bridges, buildings, towers and underground structures also the work of our Interiors Division which creates beautiful office interiors and Entrainment our very hands on safety and management training company.  

Without you - our customers - supporting these activities and the commitment of our team the other Good Stuff couldn't happen.

Thanks!

Andy on the Radio

A warning that Andy -  the boss - will be on the radio, again!, today ;o)

http://www.redshiftradio.co.uk/programmes/flying-start

Fortunately you have to listen on the internet so he won't be able to talk to you in your car

Friday Smile - Up and Under Care

Last weekend staff from Up and Under took a group of young carers to the Conway Centre on Anglesey for a special weekend away.

Funded by the Up and Under Foundation, 12 excited youngsters headed off in a minibus, driven by our MD Andy Fewtrell, for a weekend of adventure.

Teamwork to overcome obstacles

Gaining confidence

Flying now!

The youngsters aged between 8 and 15 had a programme that included rope courses through the trees, canoeing on the Menai Straits, night time trail finding, camp fires, bush craft and climbing.

How to safely light a fire

On Sunday evening they climbed back into the bus ready to travel home and regale friends and family with tales of their adventures.

Toasting Marshmallows

You may not be aware, but 0.5% of all the turnover (not profit) from our operating companies is donated to the Up and Under Foundation.  In addition all of the admin costs of the charity, including insurance costs, IT, vehicles, etc, are met by Up and Under; plus they support fund raising activities and provide volunteers.

So every job you give us helps young people.

Charity Bike Ride Entries Close Soon!

Entries for the Foundation Rides closes on 29th May, so don't delay.  We will close the entry earlier if we meet our full quota of 250.

This is a great way to give yourself a fitness challenge while helping others.

All money raised by the event will go to support less well of youngsters through the Up and Under Foundation.

For details and entry visit www.foundationrides.co.uk

Thanks for your support.

Awards Again and Further Foundation Activity

We have been notified that we have been shortlisted for a Local Impact Award in the Business in the Community Awards 2013 for the North West.

We are delighted that our efforts are being recognised in these prestigious awards.

We will have to wait to see if we have won when the results are announced at a prestigious ceremony in Manchester on 13th June.

And just to keep us busy we will be taking 13 young carers away for a weekend in Anglesey.  These youngsters are really impressive people.  With ages ranging from 8 up to 16 they care for ill or disabled parents or siblings.  We hope that they all really enjoy their weekend break.

Foundation Rides - 9th June

ENTER NOW

Up and Under will be organising two bike rides to raise funds for the Up and Under Foundation on Sunday 9th June.  The money raised will be used to support more activities for disadvantaged young people.

There are two distances so you can pick the challenge that fits your ability.  The Foundation Ride is a pleasant 50 km circuit taking in a popular cyclist cafe in Audlem and the historic town of Nantwich.  The Good Stuff Ride is a tougher prospect including some of the lumpier parts of Cheshire, not forgetting an opportunity to stop at the Ice Cream Farm Cafe for a well earned breather.

We have limited the number of entries for these two events to 250 and places are filling up fast.  So to enter go to www.foundationrides.co.uk. Entry fees are far lower than most of the sportive rides and the profit from this event go to benefit young people in need.

And it gets better - we have support from two, local, leading names in good food.  Mornflake will be providing the porridge for breakfast at the start of the ride and Chatwins will be supplying the buns for after the ride.

ENTER NOW

High Sheriff's Awards - Video

This video was prepared for the Awards dinner and was shown prior to us receiving our prize, we love it, see what you think ;o

Foundation Rides

Here's a date for your diaries.  On June 9th we will be organising a couple of challenge rides to raise money for the Up and Under Foundation.

As we all have good intentions in January it is a good time to set yourself a goal that might need a little preparation (training) to acomplish.

So enter now at:

www.foundationrides.co.uk

More importantly Andy's mum will be supplying cake.

Please note - numbers are limited

Up and Under Foundation - Annual Review

We work very hard to do 'Good Stuff' for our clients then use some of the money we earn to do more 'Good Stuff' here is a link to our 2012 review.

Annual Review

Thanks for helping make all this possible.

Pickmere Development Opening

Andy brought a little of the Olympic Summer back to the residents of the Wulvern Housing, Pickmere development at the official opening today.

Many of the residents who had seen the Torch Relay in May were able to get to see the Torch close up.

The Olympic theme went further with a presentation by Paralympic medalists Sarah and Barney Storey who also brough along their Gold Medals from London 2012.

Weekend Volunteering

Two members of the Up and Under team spent the weekend at the Conway Centre on Anglesey assisting with adventure activities over the weekend.

One spent two days with groups walking in the Glyders.  One day was graced with near perfect weather conditions.  The views from Tryfan were exceptional, especially when nearby Glyder fach was shrouded in tumbling cloud.

The other team member spent two days coastal traversing, assisting the centre instructor to safely facilitate two groups of ten youngsters in climbing and open water swimming activities around the dramatic coastline of Holy Island.

We have supported less well off youngsters in attending this centre for a number of years and this type of interaction helps us to understand both the needs of, and the benefits to, the young people we help.

On Saturday evening another 100 people got to have their own Olympic Torch moment when once more Andy's Torch did the rounds.  For some this was the highlight of another fantastic weekend at the Conway Centre.

Up and Under Downhill Race Team Latest

Supporting sporting teams has long been a part of what we do at Up and Under and in 2012 we will be supporting our very own downhill bike race team, the following is a report from their first outing:

Pearce Cycles Downhill Series 2012 – Round 1

The Up and Under downhill race team (Rob - Hughes, Director Up and Under Limited - , Tom and John) had an encouraging first race of the season – Pearce Cycles Downhill Series Round 1 at Bringewood near Ludlow.


After a fairly relaxed day of practice on Saturday with dry dusty conditions the mood was a bit tense come Sunday morning, as the ground was damp the sky was grey and the open section was a bit slick. However, at the end of practice the track was dry.

First Runs:
John sets off 5th in category and sets a solid time of 2:41.227

Tom roles down the hill 23rd off the line to provisionally take 1st in category with a 2:34.610, after pulling an ‘ET’ over the finish jump. Crowd loving it!

Rob follows him down as his 30second man to take 1st by just over half a second (Up and Under in positions 1 and 2).

A further 29 riders come down in category pushing the team to 12th, 13th and 31st but second runs remain!


Second Runs:

John makes it down knocking almost 2 seconds off his first run, maintaining 31st position.  Tom feeling the pressure collects two trees in the last section (no real harm done) but still crosses the line taking 0.23 seconds off his first run time, finishes 18th.  Rob has an impressive incident free run taking just over 3 seconds off his first run time, finishing in 9th (target of a top ten result achieved).

Full results at:
http://www.pearcecycles.co.uk/results_pcss12_round_1
and for the extra stats:
http://www.rootsandrain.com/race1217/2012-mar-18-pearce-cycles-1-bringewood/

Bring on round 2! (At Hopton Woods, Nr. Craven Arms on the 21st & 22nd April)
Free camping for anyone that wants to

Up and Under Challenge 25

So next week we celebrate our 25th Birthday.  We will be doing lots during the year and we will keep you informed of the various activities.

The first event we are revealing is an opportunity for you all to join us, get active, have some fun and challenge yourself.  "Challenge 25" is your sporting roadmap to our action packed 25th birthday year.  There will be prizes galore, opportunities to get your picture on the web site and lots more.

Se the details below:

Click to enlarge!

Dakar cars help local youngsters

The Up and Under Foundation teamed up with Rally Raid International to raise funds at the recent Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. The money raised will be used to subsidise adventurous trips run by local schools, Scouts and other youth groups.

Andy Fewtrell of the Up and Under Group said that “visitors to the event were generous in their support paying at least £10 for a ride around an off road circuit in a desert race car” In total we raised £925.

The Charity, founded in 2007 by Crewe based civil engineering specialists has helped a number of local organisations this year including Underwood West Junior School and the Wilson House Scout group.

Rally Raid International provided one of the cars and a driver to support the fund raising event. The Desert Warrior car has completed the Dakar Rally, probably the toughest motorsport event in the world, so took the bump and dips of the Cholmondeley course in its stride.

For more information see www.upandundergroup.com/community.html

Snowdon for Charity

The Up and Under Foundation will be teaming up with our accountants Banks Sheridan and Barclays in an ascent of Snowdon this Sunday.  Members of the team are raising money for the Up and Under Foundation. 

You can support their efforts here: http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Watkinson

David Morris of Banks Sheridan said:

"The impetus of this day is very much in accordance with the primary objects of the charity we are supporting by raising funds:- The Up and Under Foundation.
The foundation is a small local charity which enables South Cheshire youngsters to experience adventure and similar activities which may be outside their reach due to economic and social circumstances. The intention is to inspire those children towards an active and rewarding life."

Please click on the charity website for more information:

http://www.upandundergroup.com/community.html

The Up and Under Foundation currently has approximately £1000 available through its two main funds:
The Eric Swan Bursary - youngsters attending the Conwy Centre
The Tom Dootson Memorial Fund - Working with the local Scouting community

Up and Under Foundation - Update

Just a short ipdate on where we are up to. 

We have recieved a letter from the Scout group we helped with funding for their trip to the Menin Gate and Ypres.  It would to appear to have been an enjoyable and eye opening trip and they even met the Australian Ambassador.  It wasn't all sombre experiences and Scouuts being Scouts they did manage to sample the local Belgium Chocolates and visit a theme park before returning home.

We currently have £500 immediately available to youngsters through the Eric Swan bursary and the Tom Dootson Memorial fund so if you know of any youngsters who need assistance with funding for trips to the Conway Centre or of Scout activities in South Cheshire needing assistance for less well off members please contact us.

Details can be found at: http://www.upandundergroup.com/community.html

And if you are considering a fund raising event or are organising a function where we could have a collection please do not hesitate to contact us.  You can be sure that funds will not be swallowed up like this:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/53999/
Because all admin and insurance costs are met by the Up and Under Group.

Up and Under director on the Radio

Andy Fewtrell will be on Redshift Radio www.redshiftradio.co.uk between 10 and 11am today on the day to day business show.  Andy is a regular contributer to the Monday morning show, reviewing business and personal development books.

If you miss it you can listen again by going to the Redshift web site.  If you are in the Crewe area catch it on 87.7FM

Happy Anniversary

Brian Garner, who was the Up and Under storeman in the early 1990's, recently celebrated his 60th wedding aniversary with his wife Kath.  Brian was active in the scouting movement as a leader when Andy Fewtrell, our MD, was but a lad.

In the 1970s Andy worked under Brian's guidance when building scenery for scout gang shows.  Years later Brian Joined Up and Under as a capable storeman and handyman before taking what is proving to be a long and fruitful retirement.

All at The Up and Under Group wish Brian and Kath and their family all the best for their future.

Are you a worker or a shirker?

To celebrate the efforts of the Up and Under team through the freeze we have had a limited edition bumper sticker printed. You too can get one by sending £2 via paypal, Contact Andy for details; andy@upandundergroup.com or 01270 5897615. All profits will go to the Up and Under Foundation.

Go on tell the world, a little bit of snow can't stop you!