Inside Turnkey’s Charity Initiatives: A Conversation with Peter Knak-Watt
Turnkey’s Charity Team shares how personal, inclusive fundraising initiatives support meaningful causes while bringing colleagues together across the business.
We spoke with Peter Knak-Watt, Developer and member of the Charity Team at Turnkey, to learn more about the work the charity initiatives team does across the business, the impact of recent events, and how colleagues can get involved in supporting causes that matter to them.
What does our charity initiatives team do within the company, and why does it matter to you?
We want to raise awareness and funds for the charities that mean a lot to the people at Turnkey. Ideally while having some fun as well. We set up events like coffee mornings, quizzes and company-wide games to raise money for good causes. But we also find out the charities that our colleagues care about and donate money to them from our charity budget.
Can you share a recent initiative that made a real impact?
For Easter we set up a bake sale, a rabbit race and an egg painting competition to raise money for Kilbryde Hospice. They’re a charity that provides invaluable care to patients with life limiting progressive illnesses, and one of our colleagues has a personal connection to them. The day was a huge success and we raised over £500. We also donated about fifty chocolate Easter eggs (all bought individually by staff) to Loaves and Fishes foodbank.
What inspired you to get involved in supporting the company’s charity work?
Honestly, there are so many good causes out there, all doing amazing work. Which is great, but it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming when deciding what charities to donate to. The thing I like most about our charity team initiative is how personal it is – we’re not just giving money out arbitrarily for the sake of looking good. We’re actively finding the causes that matter most to our people and channelling money towards them. We helped support a colleague’s daughter who was cutting her hair for Little Princess Trust – a charity that makes wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment. Another colleague had a partner who was running the London Marathon for Hospice UK, so we helped her fundraiser. We’re always encouraging people here at Turnkey to let us know the charities that matter to them.
What’s something people might not realise about how these initiatives are planned and delivered behind the scenes?
We try to make events as inclusive as possible. It’s a constant consideration and challenge – how can we make this thing accessible to everyone, even those tuning in online, while keeping things engaging? While there will always be a place for a good old fashioned in-person bake sale, we’re increasingly coming up with ideas to include remote workers. For the world cup this summer we’re thinking of setting up a company-wide sweepstake, and one of the developers is working on a virtual pinata game in their own time. Because Mexico are playing in the first match, of course.
How can colleagues across the business get involved or support the work you do?
Naturally, we always want people to get involved in our fundraisers. But we also want your input. What charities matter to you? We want to hear about and support the local efforts of everyday people making the world a better place. Maybe your partner’s doing a sponsored kilt-walk to raise money for mental health awareness, or your gran’s climbing Ben Nevis to support mountain rescue teams. We want to hear about those things, promote them and donate to them!
A huge thank you to Peter Knak-Watt for sharing his insights into the Charity Team at Turnkey. If you’d like to stay up to date with our latest charity work, make sure to follow us on our social channels.