Speed of Sight charity provides life-changing driving experiences on racetracks and off-road venues for people of all ages and disabilities who cannot or are unlikely to hold a driving licence. Martin Port is a corporate partner for the charity and enjoys helping more people benefit from its experiences.
St Gemma’s Hospice is a local, independent charity and has been providing expert care to the people of Leeds for over 40 years. We provide the best possible care and support for local people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. We specialise in pain relief and symptom control to help people live as well as possible, for as long as possible. We are one of the leading hospices in the UK.
Road safety charity Brake does amazing work to stop the tragedy of road deaths and injuries.
BigChange launched its Leaders for Life programme in partnership with Brake, helping company bosses lead by example and promote safe driving behaviour to their employees.
Martin remains a loyal supporter of the charity, which has limited resources but strives hard to make the UK a safer place.
The Young Lives vs Cancer charity helps families find the strength to cope with cancer.
The charity provides grants and crucial financial support, and provides a support package that is tailored to a family’s needs.
The charity does amazing work and we are proud to support them with much-needed funding.
Yorkshire Children’s Centre (YCC) is a regional charity that supports vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, and their families, within Kirklees and surrounding areas.
Its vision is for all young people to have opportunities for a better life, and Martin is proud to support the vital work the children’s centre does for the local community.
Around 30,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year in Yorkshire.
It is a shocking statistic and Yorkshire Cancer Research is doing all it can to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
The charity funds research and trials to improve treatment, contributing around £10m a year to benefit the community of Yorkshire.
The impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are catastrophic. For us at BigChange, the conflict feels even more personal because eight of our colleagues are Ukrainian nationals, based in Kyiv.
So we are supporting Ukraine nationals wherever we can, and one way is by donating money to the World Jewish Relief’s Ukraine crisis appeal. It’s the least we can do at this unsettling time.
BigChange became corporate partners of Transaid in 2018, providing funding, auction prizes and organising events to raise the charity’s profile.
Martin is an ambassador for Transaid, which works with partners and governments to solve transport challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Its goal is to transform lives through safe, available and sustainable transport.
It has been a pleasure to work with a charity that shares so many of the same core values and has the same “family” feel.
Find out more about some of BigChange’s work with Transaid here.
Back Up is a UK charity dedicated to supporting people affected by spinal cord injury.
The charity provides crucial services for families. Someone is permanently paralysed every four hours in the UK, and Back Up provides everything from mentoring and guidance to support on finding wheelchair and sourcing carers.
There are currently around 80 people in Leeds being treated for motor neurone disease (MND).
The Leeds Hospitals Charity aims to raise £5m to build a specialist MND care centre in Leeds to give people with MND the best quality of life.
The Rob Burrow Centre would see all MND services housed under one roof for the first time.
Rob Burrow is a former Leeds Rhinos player who has been courageously sharing his story of motor neurone disease since he was diagnosed at the age of 37.
So far around £2m has been raised, so there is still a long way to go to reach the £5m target, and Martin hopes to raise awareness of the cause.
Find out more here about the Rob Burrow Centre MND appeal.