Category: Centrus Communities

Volunteering with Trees for Life at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre

It was a genuine treat to have supported Trees for Life in the beautiful Scottish Highlands last week.

Incredible weather, incredible teamwork, and incredible learning.

Centrus has been a corporate partner of Trees for Life for the last 3 years but this was our first physical volunteering contribution. The passion and knowledge across their team is outstanding and we were very lucky to be the ‘crash test dummies’ for their new Rewilding Centre in Dundreggan. It is a brilliant facility with excellent staff and volunteers. They are working hard to establish a sustainable ecosystem to the landscape, history and biodiversity while making sure people and the social impact are included on the way.

We helped over 2,000 Aspen Trees in their nursery journey, and we were taught huge amounts by the brilliant local team.

Special thanks to Catherine Faulkner and Stephen Couling for their organisation and hospitality. I can highly recommend the centre, and their work and I am very proud of our ongoing association with Trees for Life.

To learn more about Trees for Life and the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, click here.

This week, the Centrus team spent an afternoon with The Soup Kitchen, walking the streets of Central London handing out 60+ meals to the homeless and vulnerable. The route of roughly 3 miles took us through Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Embankment, St. Martins Lane and finally The Strand (luckily for us the overhead thunder and lightning was kind…we had just a few drops of rain).  

The afternoon was an incredibly moving experience, we encountered many interesting people who appreciated a chat, just as much as the food. The smiles on their faces and their genuine gratitude was heart-warming, to say the least. Huge thanks to Natasha at The Soup Kitchen, we look forward to working together in the future.

In the words of Winston Churchill – “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

The Soup Kitchen was established in 1986 and is a valuable resource for the homeless, elderly, lonely and vulnerable in London. They provide free nutritious meals, clothing, and toiletries for over 150 people daily.

Further information on the charity, how to donate and get involved can be found here:  https://soupkitchenlondon.org/

Centrus Communities is proud to have sponsored the Tour de Lunsar 2023, Sierra Leone’s largest cycling race, promoting an exciting future for professional cycling in West Africa.

Inspired by the world beyond his home, the mining town of Lunsar which has no cycling heritage to speak of, Abdul Karim Kamara launched the Lunsar Cycling Team from his bicycle repair workshop in 2013. The shop has since moved to bigger premises and become a focal point for the community.

Ten years later, the Tour de Lunsar has grown in size and reputation, attracting cyclists who want to make it professionally.

The 2023 edition of the event started on the 26 April, Sierra Leone’s independence day, with men’s, women’s and junior races, all of which take place on non-closed roads, competing with traffic and causing lengthy tailbacks.

The men’s race is split across four stages. The first starts in Freetown, the country’s capital, and each stage ends in Lunsar.

The women’s race and junior races are single stages culminating in laps of a circuit in Lunsar.

There were 141 competitors in total. 51 riders took part in the men’s race, 19 in the women’s and 70 in the junior competition.

Centrus is proud to have sponsored the event for a third year. It is a pleasure to support the incredible Lunsar team as they continue to grow youth confidence and achievement through cycling in Sierra Leone.

This week, our team spent the day volunteering at Blackfriars Settlement – cooking and serving lunch to their wonderful Positive Ageing Group.

Blackfriars Settlement is a busy community organisation in London’s North Southwark. Originally set up by volunteers back in 1887, the centre aims to support the most vulnerable in the community and make life better.

Thank you to the Blackfriars Settlement community for a fantastic day! For more information on how to get involved, click here.

The Centrus team had a fantastic evening with Pension Insurance Corporation plc at their annual charity treasure hunt on the 16th November 2022, in aid of Independent Age and Rethink Mental Illness.

Dressing to the ‘British Icon’ theme, our clued-up team of detectives solved a set of mysteries placed around the city and ultimately cracked the case!

Many thanks to PIC and their charity partners at Independent Age and Rethink Mental Illness for a brilliant event!

The Centrus Communities quiz team had a brilliant evening supporting Reseed in Clerkenwell last night. 

It was brilliant to see the direct impact of Reseed team’s pioneering work across agriculture and microfinance projects in Sierra Leone.

Special thanks to Roxanne Hargreaves and Tom Owen.

Centrus were proud to support City Giving Day 2022!

On the 27th of September, our team of cyclists took part in the famous ‘Tour Du City’, held in The Leadenhall Building in aid of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.

The challenge included a thrilling 40-min race, divided into five 8-minute slots for team members to pedal as fast as they possibly could. The Centrus squad did incredibly well, scoring in the top 10.

It was a pleasure to support The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, which delivers pioneering programmes for change across four strategic priorities: inclusion, mental health, skills and philanthropy. 

The Appeal’s partner charities include National Numeracy, MQ Mental Health Research and The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

For more information on The Lord Mayor’s Appeal and the annual City Giving Day, click here.

Once again, Centrus are proud to have sponsored the #TourDeLunsar 2022, Sierra Leone’s largest cycling race, promoting an exciting future for professional cycling in West Africa.
 
It is a pleasure to support the incredible Lunsar team as they continue to grow youth confidence and achievement through cycling in Sierra Leone.
 
To find out more about The Tour De Lunsar, click here.

For more information, please email george.roffey@centrusadvisors.com