Axis Employees Volunteer at Ambition Aspire Achieve

Volunteers help with the Christmas Appeal

On Tuesday the 7th of December, a group of Axis emoployees volunteered at Ambition Aspire Achieve helping with their Christmas Appeal.

The charity, which was founded in June 2016 by late Kevin Jenkins OBE, provides opportunities for children and young people in the London Borough of Newham and surrounding areas. Their work particularly focuses on those with disabilities or additional needs, including after school clubs, holiday play and youth activities, and information advice and support for vulnerable young people.

Having previously supported the charity back in 2020 with a £2,000 donation via the Axis Foundation, we decided to support the local appeal again by matching the donation and offering volunteer support.

In conjunction with Newham, each year Ambition Aspire Achieve help provide a Christmas stocking full of gifts for each child referred. Given the struggles many families have faced during the pandemic, the referrals have been higher than ever! To help get the stockings ready in time for Christmas, our Axis team spent the day at the charity’s warehouse in Canning Town, helping to organise the huge delivery of toys they had received.

The day began with introductions and a H&S talk; we were then assigned teams to work alongside. Our first task was to pack over 100 gift bags for distribution that evening. Once that was completed it was all hands-on deck to help the others unpack mountains of boxes full of amazing toys and gifts for kids of all ages. – Victoria Basham, HR Manager

The Christmas warehouse was filled with the most wonderful pre-Christmas atmosphere, it was filled with thousands of presents to be distributed to vulnerable children. Being a mother of two I know the magic and joy getting a present from Santa Clause can have, knowing that some children will get their first-ever gift from Santa made me add some love to their Christmas bag. We found out that AAA had been doing this noble gesture for more than 40 years. The small team of the warehouse is simply an incredible example for us to follow, truly inspiring. – Daniela Postolachi, HR Administrator