When the coronavirus forced Glenn Pearmain to close his barbershop, Amen the Barbers, he wasn’t even sure if his 28-year-old business would survive. Despite his fears, it was Glenn’s immense kindness that brought a cheque of £500 to Saint Francis Hospice.
His clients’ lockdown mops inspired him to loan his clippers, in return for a £5 donation to the charity. Glenn advertised his fundraising idea on Facebook, sanitised his tools, and left them on his doorstep for collection. As weeks of self-isolation wore on, Glenn repeated this process until he was allowed reopen and raised a super £250.
‘As a small business owner, it’s been a very upsetting time,’ Glenn admitted. ‘Yet, this gave me something positive to focus on and relieve some of the worries I was experiencing.’
Glenn soon discovered that his clients weren’t just donating the recommended £5 but double, triple, or even quadruple that amount. ‘My clients were very grateful for the loan of the clippers and were thrilled that they were giving to an incredible cause. Their generosity was staggering.’
Carefully observing the results of the DIY haircuts, Glenn recalled that most people got to grips with his apparatus well. ‘But there were a few laughs to be had!’ he revealed.
Glenn kindly matched the £250 he raised from his pocket and is now appealing for other business owners to get involved too. ‘Due to the pandemic, Saint Francis Hospice has become so limited in how it can raise money, so they need all the help they can get right now,’ he said.
‘With only 23% of running costs coming from the Government, we all need to help find the £8.5m a year that will ensure the Hospice remains open for all of us in the community to benefit from, if and when we need it.’
Whether you’re a one-man-band like Glenn or are part of a bigger team, there are many ways in which your company can help Saint Francis Hospice get safely through the pandemic.
If you’d like to find out more about how you, your colleagues, and customers can do something incredible for local people living with life-limiting illnesses, while having heaps of fun along the way, then the team would love to hear from you at corporatefundraising@sfh.org.uk
