Animal Friends

Your vote matters this Christmas! 🎅✅ YOU have the power to help write the next chapter for extraordinary UK pets in need of some extra special love and care. With five wildly different animal welfare charities to choose from - BLIND DOG RESCUE UK, Forgotten Felines, Refuge4Pets, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), Wolfie's Legacy - cast your free vote on our website before 15th December, and the charity you love could win up to £50,000 towards writing even more happy-ever-afters. Vote now: https://lnkd.in/eRZbaT3S As a thank you for voting, you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a £100 e-voucher. T&Cs apply - link on the voting website page. #AWildlyDifferentXmasTail #WildlyDifferent

At Animal Friends, our colleagues are passionate about creating a better life for every animal. Earlier this year, we ran our Tails of UK Wildlife campaign, putting the lens on our nature neighbours, and what we can all be doing to support a better future for our local wildlife. While the campaign may have drawn to a close, our colleagues’ support for UK wildlife is a year ‘round commitment, demonstrated perfectly by our catchup with Vee Hawkes (Junior Test Engineer), who told us all about how their love of animals has shaped their life so far… What first got you interested in wildlife? “I’ve always loved animals since I was a kid! Back in the 90s, this meant reading all the encyclopaedia entries about various animals from across the world and getting very stuck playing the Ecco the Dolphin games. I had lots of pets growing up and loved researching how to take care of them and enrich their environment. Exotic pets aren’t always for everyone because they do need a bit more care and expertise, but it’s so rewarding to bond with them and give them a good home. One of the great loves of my life was my African Pygmy hedgehog, Buffy. She might have looked a bit mean and grumpy but if she got to know and like you, she was an absolute softy – and I can attest to that because if you were privileged enough to touch her belly, it was very soft fur!” Tell us about some of the things/activities you’ve done for local wildlife. “I currently live in a flat which means there’s not loads that I can do with my home to make it more wildlife friendly, so instead I get involved with local charities and non-profit organisations. I currently volunteer with Chineham Conservation Group and Sherfield Park Conservation Group, and we do all sorts while looking after the local nature reserves! This includes coppicing (cutting trees or shrubs down to encourage new growth), clearing up the local river, managing invasive species and monitoring local species (like on our bat walks, where we used specialised equipment to hear and identify the various bats!). "They’re small organisations but they’ve got some extremely knowledgeable people involved and you pick up so much being around them. You meet some wonderful people with similar interests, so it really helps to feel more integrated in the community. And, with it being local, it’s lovely to see the difference when you walk past an area that you’ve worked on.” What’s your advice for those who would like to get involved with supporting local wildlife? “What I’ve found is that there are so many wonderful organisations no matter where you’re based. They’re made up of people who really care and want to make a difference to the wildlife that we have here in the UK and they’re always looking for more members to help make that happen.” #LifeAtAnimalFriends #WildlyDifferent

Something festive and feel-good is just around the corner 🔜🎅 This Friday, we're so excited to launch 'A Wildly Different Xmas Tail', in which YOU will have the chance to use your vote and help write the next chapter in an extraordinary pet’s story. Get ready for Friday when voting officially opens! 🗳️ #AWildlyDifferentXmasTail #WildlyDifferent #Christmas #Charity #AnimalFriendsGivingBack

We're kicking off National Tree Week 🌳 with a tree-mendously informative episode from our ‘A Walk in the Park’ podcast, as The Tree Council talk with us about the wonderful benefits of the UK's trees and hedgerows: https://lnkd.in/erdStzva #AWalkinthePark #AnimalFriendsPodcast #Podcast #TheTreeCouncil #NationalTreeWeek

It’s National Road Safety Week, which highlights the importance for us all to take a little more care on the roads. Very sadly, roads are not always safe for our pets - it is reported by Cats Matter that 230,000 cats are hit by a vehicle every year in the UK. Many animals including dogs, horses, and sheep are covered by the Road Traffic Act 1988, meaning you must stop and report road traffic collisions involving these animals. However, this law does not extend to cats, as they are not seen as having the same financial value attached to them. 😞 Our pets are not just a financial asset, they are part of the family, and this situation is easy for the government to fix. They simply need to add the word “cat” into current legislation, or bring forward a new Bill to allow our feline friends to have the same protection as other animals. Please email your MP and ask them to change the legislation at writetothem.com. #RoadSafetyWeek #CatsCountToo #PetsArePartoftheFamily

It’s no secret that, at Animal Friends, we’re all about making a difference to animals in need of all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life. That’s why every one of our colleagues, no matter their department or position, can take one day’s paid Volunteering Leave per year and step away from their desks to support an animal charity close to their heart. This year, we launched a very special volunteering initiative, led by our Senior Leadership Team: regional volunteering! Our dedication to flexible working means that we’ve got colleagues living all over the UK – these regional volunteering days are designed to bring together colleagues from the same area geographically, giving them the opportunity to volunteer together and get to know each other a little better through a shared passion. To top it off, a member of our SLT joins each regional group. Three fantastic volunteering days have taken place in 2024, with our very own Richard Mills (CEO) and team helping out at Birmingham Dogs Home, Patricia Gardiner MA, BA (Hons) (Chief Sales and Marketing Officer) mucking in alongside 13 colleagues at Coppershell Animal Rescue, and Ben Pryce (Chief Operating Officer) getting stuck in and making a difference at HART Wildlife Rescue. We’ve got plenty more giving to do, and many more volunteering opportunities up our sleeve as we head towards the end of 2024, and into 2025. We hope to see even more of our passionate colleagues getting involved in volunteering next year, whether as part of a regional volunteering day, or on a volunteering adventure entirely of their own design – watch this space! #LifeAtAnimalFriends #GivingBack #CreatingABetterLifeForEveryAnimal

To celebrate National Career Development Month this November, we were incredibly excited to launch our first ever Virtual Career Development Fayre! We know that career progression is hugely important to our colleagues here at Animal Friends, so naturally, it’s important to us, too. Our Virtual Career Development Fayre, taking place from 11th-29th November, focusses on a different theme each week, offering handy tips, advice, insightful webinars, and real-life stories shared by our very own colleagues and leaders to help inspire and encourage those next steps on each individual career pathway, however they may look. Our colleagues will have the chance to not only find out more about the career stories of their peers from different parts of the business, but also to ask them questions and share their thoughts during live Q&A sessions, kicking off with ‘A Day in the Life of a Lead Data Scientist’, featuring Santhilata K.V PhD. We hope that, by starting conversations and sharing skills applicable to every role, we can support our colleagues to achieve success in their next chapter, no matter what stage they’re at in their career journey. #LifeAtAnimalFriends

At Animal Friends, we're passionate about supporting our colleagues to courageously pursue new adventures within their career, whether that’s by taking the next step within their current team or moving to a completely new department. We empower our colleagues to grow and progress with us, no matter their chosen field or lived experience, and we recognise that our differences make us stronger, and should be celebrated and championed. That’s why we’re kicking off a new series of posts putting the lens on technology - a field which remains typically male-dominated - and sharing the stories of inspiring women at Animal Friends who have forged their careers within sectors such as IT and Data. We caught up with Carly Lowe, to find out more about her new adventure as Data Governance Manager, and the steps she took to get there. Can you tell us a bit about your Animal Friends journey so far? “I've been at Animal Friends almost two years, starting as a Data Governance Officer and moving up to the role of Data Governance Manager in April this year. I'd previously worked at another insurer for 14 years, so was a little apprehensive of the move, but I needn't have been! Animal Friends has been and remains a super friendly, approachable, and 'real' place to work. The people are unique, and each person brings a wealth of skill, experience, and individuality to their work. I genuinely feel I am seen and have a voice here.” What’s your favourite thing about working in Data? “For a digital company like Animal Friends, data is everything! I love that everyone uses data day-to-day to some degree, whether at work or home - we take it for granted. As a non-technical person in a very technical team, I love bringing data to life and making it relevant to everyone, promoting the caring and guardianship of it (just as you would a pet!). I'm also really proud to be part of a Data team that has so many strong female role models within all the Data specialisms. This isn't always the case across the industry, so it's great that we're bucking the trend!” What advice would you give to a colleague looking to take their next step at Animal Friends? “Just to use your voice and be open to the possibility of growth or development in ways you may not have considered. Next steps don't always have to be upwards; side steps into another team is welcomed at Animal Friends and can offer huge opportunity. Use your voice to talk to your leads/managers and express your wishes; connect with others across Animal Friends and use it to learn what areas you love (or don't) to help direct your path. Best of luck.” #LifeAtAnimalFriends #WomenInTechnology

In honour of Remembrance Day, our telephone lines will close between 10:58 and 11:02 today to allow our colleagues to observe the two-minute silence. Thank you for your support and patience. “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them” 🌹

As our Tails of UK Wildlife campaign comes to a close, we'd like to say a HUGE thank you to the 10 amazing charities who took part - and of course to each and every one of you who followed along with our campaign, taking smalls action to leave a lasting impact. Together, let's continue making a difference to UK wildlife! 🤝💚