Charity

AUTHENTIC GROWTH REWARDED

Posted on May 17, 2024

A COLLECTIVE TEAM effort has seen Pure Leisure Group clinch a coveted award.

Independent holiday park operator, Pure Leisure Group, has won the coveted Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Award at Lancashire’s prestigious Red Rose Awards 2024. The Group was recognised for its authentic and organic growth, unwavering commitment to community, charity and country and its contribution to the local economy, fighting off tough competition to be crowned winners of the sought-after accolade.

The awards, which are now in their 14th consecutive year, look to celebrate businesses and individuals across Lancashire, delivering outstanding service and performance, across 21 different categories. Winners were revealed at an exclusive ceremony hosted at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens in front of a 1,000-strong audience.

Commenting on the win, John Morphet, Owner of Pure Leisure Group said: “We are absolutely delighted and incredibly proud to have won the Red Rose Award for Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality and want to thank each of our team members for the hard work that got us here. Pure Leisure Group was founded in 2004 by local entrepreneur John Morphet and has gone from strength to strength since.

Today, it boasts over 1000 acres of land, over 4000 caravan and lodge bases, 154 touring pitches, 25 pods + three Rustic Glamping Pods across its portfolio of 19 holiday parks across England and Scotland. John added: “It is this collective effort that has led to our continued growth and success in Lancashire and beyond and we have enjoyed sharing our success with important community groups and organisations, most recently providing a £50,000 donation to Stockport’s Beechwood Cancer Care Centre and St John’s Hospice in Lancaster as part of our charitable initiatives.”

Verdant Leisure Supports Teenage Cancer Trust

Posted on March 3, 2020

Verdant Leisure Supports Teenage Cancer Trust

ABOVE: Verdant Leisure staff and guests have put their significant support behind a worthy charity.

Over the past two years, employees, holiday homeowners and holiday guests across Verdant Leisure parks and Lancaster Head Office have held numerous fundraising events to raise a total of £76,033.69 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Verdant Leisure have worked tirelessly to raise an impressive £38,753.04 for the charity in 2019, compared with the previous year’s notable total of £37,280.65. 2019’s fundraising events and activities saw members of the Verdant team skydive over 10,000 feet, shave their hair and host weekend family fun days.

The monies raised will help Teenage Cancer Trust provide care and support for young people aged 13-24 facing cancer in the UK. To decide on its Charity of the Year, Verdant Leisure called upon holiday homes owners, holiday guests and employees to nominate a charity. The nominated charities were shortlisted and decided by a public Facebook poll, with Teenager Cancer Trust being the overall winner with an outstanding 80% of the vote.

Verdant Leisure offers a wide range of bespoke accommodation from self-catering caravans, deluxe lodges to camping pods and touring pitches at selected parks across South East Scotland, Ayrshire and North East England.

Full Frontal Attack On Breast Cancer

Posted on March 3, 2020

Full Frontal Attack On Breast Cancer

ABOVE: A band of women from nine Welsh holiday parks have bared all to combat breast cancer.

A brave band of women from holiday parks across Wales have generated a £22,000 charity windfall by baring all for Breast Cancer Care. The group’s cheeky photographs appear on a month-by-month calendar which has been snapped-up by collectors from across the UK.

With their modestly protected by props, the photos capture the women relaxing on the parks in Wales where they own holiday caravans and lodges. When their first calendar came out last year, it raised around £7,500 for charity – but strong demand for a 2020 version has now seen that amount almost tripled.

Leading lights behind the project were two women with holiday homes on the parks: Kay Large from Haydock in Merseyside, and Chris Lawton from Bramhall in Stockport. Kay’s holiday home is at Meanan Abbey Caravan Park in Conwy, and Chris has a holiday home at Tree Tops Caravan Park near Hollywell.

The sum raised came from a combination of 1,000 sales of the £8.50 calendars, sponsorship by holiday parks of each month, donations, and a glittering gala night. The gala was held at Gorse Hill Caravan Park in Conwy, organised by manager Tracy Thomas Evelyn, and raised £8,000 over the course of the evening.

Behind the lens for the photo-shoot was accomplished photographer Andy Walker of Tree Tops Caravan Park which he co-owns with his parents Maureen and Harry. Last year, said Andy, the women were all from Tree Tops – but this time, seven other parks were also keen to become involved in the posing project.

Shorefield Stages Charity Bake Off

Posted on October 31, 2019

Shorefield Stages Charity Bake Off

ABOVE: Staff and visitors at two Shorefield Holiday resorts raised over £750 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Shorefield Holidays staged its own Bake Off-style coffee morning across two of its eight UK holiday parks to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The events at Shorefield Country Park and Oakdene Forest Park were part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and raised £760.47 for the charity, which provides emotional, medical, practical and financial support for cancer patients and their families, as well as campaigning for better cancer care.

Juliet Dowrick, Digital Marketer at Shorefield Country Park, received the title of Best Baker on the day, while the Accounts Department won Best Department for its outstanding team effort. Harry Wells, Junior Graphic Designer & Marketer, and Katie Ward, Entertainment Manager, both received recognition for ‘Best Faker’ and ‘I Taste Better Than I Look’ respectively.

Ten Year Holiday Milestone

Posted on September 10, 2019

Ten Year Holiday Milestone

Since the partnership between Canvas Holidays and the Family Holiday Association began back in 2009, 450 families, struggling with terrible circumstances, have been gifted a much-needed short break at the seaside, or local day out.
The funds have been raised solely through customer donations at the point of booking a Canvas Holiday and staff fundraising activities, both on Canvas campsites throughout Europe and at the company’s head office in Dunfermline.
The short breaks offered by the charity enable individual families to spend a few nights in a caravan at a holiday park at the British seaside.
Michael Thompson, International Call Centre Manager at Canvas Holidays said “We are so happy to have been able to help these families over the past ten years and we’d like to thank all our staff and customers for supporting the Family Holiday Association and the invaluable work they do.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Family Holiday Association in the future.” To help Canvas Holidays cover the costs of keeping the caravan in tip-top condition, enabling even more families to have a vital break for another year, you can donate via www.justgiving.com/campaign/Canvas