At Care UK, supporting colleagues who want to give back to their community is a top priority.
Care UK’s matched funding scheme meets colleagues’ fundraising efforts up to £1,000 for UK-based charities. This ensures that we support charities in the areas in which our homes operate, as well as donating to national causes. So far in 2024, we’ve raised more than £21,000 for 30 different charities.
Through our matched funding scheme, we are proud to keep legacies and memories alive. This time, it’s for Gordon Blackburn, the late father of our colleague Emma.
Emma Blackburn, who has worked as a night carer since 2017 at Prince George House in Ipswich, hosted an annual charity bike ride in memory of her late father, Gordon, since his passing in 2018. The ride is always undertaken in celebration of his birthday and brings together his family and local bikers.
Year after year, the tradition grew, with each ride bigger and more successful. In 2024, marking his 60th birthday, Emma and her family were thrilled to find that the bike ride had raised £650. It’s a true testament to Gordon’s legacy and the supportive community he left behind.
Emma said: “Despite it being Mother’s Day (and the fear of drowning in rain!), Gordon’s family and friends gathered in their masses on and off the bikes to celebrate what would have been his 60th birthday. It is such a pleasure to see his friends and share stories of my dad, and there is always so much laughter it pulls us through a rough week as a family. My Dad was always on hand to help anyone and with donations taken in his name he continues to do good supporting Felixstowe Coast Patrol and rescue.”
The Blackburn family’s charity of choice continues to be Felixstowe Coast Patrol & Rescue, due to the charity’s alignment with Gordon’s values and passions: duty of care, his ties to Levington, and his love for all things with petrol engines.
Felixstowe Coast Patrol & Rescue is an independent lifeboat charity that was formed in 1997, based in Felixstowe, Suffolk. They deal with marine safety incidents, and work closely with HM Coastguard, Suffolk Constabulary, East of England Ambulance Service, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service and the RNLI. The charity’s volunteers regularly attend first aid incidents, broken down vessels and swimmers in distress, and when not on operational deployments, their crews also visit local schools and other groups to promote sea safety and responsible use of the water.
After raising £750 for the charity, Emma’s donation was matched by Care UK’s matched funding scheme, making the total donation £1,500.
Praising on the donation, a spokesperson for Felixstowe Coast Patrol & Rescue said: “Felixstowe Coast Patrol & Rescue are sincerely grateful for all of the support we’ve received over the years from the Blackburn family and their friends. Gordon was clearly a great person and loved by everyone, it seems fitting that his legacy is helping save lives locally for years to come. We’re also overwhelmed to receive further support this year from Care UK – this is a huge boost for us.
“As an independent lifeboat we always desperately need funds to ensure that our crews are properly trained and equipped to deal with any number of situations, as well as ensuring that we continue to reach a wider audience by teaching water safety to local schools and groups, our motto of ‘For the Safety of All’ guiding us in everything we do.
“All of our crew are eternally thankful to everyone who has been part of this amazing story, and we’ll continue to do our very best to honour that legacy and serve our local community.”
If you think a job in the care sector, working alongside inspirational people like Emma, could be for you, then please read the full list of vacancies on our website – https://www.careuk.com/careers
