Zen Internet to raise funds for The Christie’s Young Oncology Unit

Michael Unsworth receiving the cheque from the Zen team

Employees at Zen Internet, one of the UK’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs), have chosen The Christie’s Young Oncology Unit as its chosen charity for the coming year.

The Young Oncology Unit Activities Fund will go a long way in helping younger patients cope with cancer and cancer treatment. Donations to this fund pay for things such as art and music therapy sessions, pizza evenings on the ward, DVDs and computer games and also sporting activities such as tennis or gym sessions for young patients who are recovering from treatment to get them back to the level of fitness they had before diagnosis.

Zen employees raised £9,000 for last year’s charity The Kingfisher Community Special School which is Oldham’s provision for primary aged children with severe and complex learning needs. Outdoor space is particularly important in the children’s curriculum for both structured play and learning opportunities, so part of the money raised will go towards creating an outdoor trim trail specially geared towards children with autism. 

Michael Unsworth, Business and Marketing Director at Kingfisher received the final cheque from Zen and was overwhelmed with how much was raised. “The money raised has allowed us to develop a key learning and play area for children with severe and complex autism, where a combination of physical challenge within a structured area was a crucial requirement for their needs. As Zen raised more than we had hoped for, the additional funds have been used to further develop part of the area into an ‘amphitheatre’, which will allow us to take structured lessons and learning opportunities outside the classroom.”

“Without the support of Zen, we would have been unable to put these fantastic facilities in place and we are incredibly grateful to all the staff and proud to be associated with the company,” added Michael.

“We are always fully committed to our chosen charity and hope that our fundraising activities can make a real difference. We have held many successful events this year including auctions and raffles with more energetic employees taking part in a Charity Cycle Ride, the Great Manchester Run and the Great Manchester Swim. We will be continuing with our efforts throughout this year for The Christie,” said Caroline Taylor, HR Director and Head of Zen’s Social and Charities Committee.

To help Zen raise more today visit:

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/zeninternet