Battle of the Businesses!

When a tongue-in-cheek idea over a bottle of Prosecco flourished into a full-blown battle of the businesses, in a bid to raise money for local charities.

Flagship Partners and neighbouring business Shoplight Ltd | B Corp™ came together to deliver three competitions over a space of three consecutive months. The aim of the competitions was to gain as many points as possible throughout in order to be crowned champions.

With £1200 on the table, Managing Directors Pete Rushmer and Mark Shortland agreed that the winning company would donate £1000 to their chosen charity and the runner up would have £200 to donate to theirs.

The brainchild behind the fun event were friends and Directors of the businesses Mel Shortland and Maggie Rushmer . Mel said; “Mark, Pete, Mags and I are all good friends. “We are all keen to help the less fortunate in not only our personal lives but also through our businesses.

“Life can be a bit dull at the beginning of the year, so what better way to get us through that with a little bit of fun competition. “ Rather than just handing over money to the charities of choice, we wanted to create team building, socialising, and getting to know the Flagship Partners team outside of being our training provider”.

The first competition donned Mary Berry enthusiasts and a bake-off was condoned. Three bakers from both Flagship Partners and Shoplight Ltd | B Corp™ dug out their pinnies and produced fine baked goods which were then blind judged.

The second part of the competition was a quiz, which called for intelligence and wit. Digging deep in the pool of employers suitable for the challenge, four team members were sourced. Quizmaster, James Dodding, ranked number 5 in UK quizzing, put both teams through their paces, and topics including film, sport, music, and general knowledge were put to the teams.

The grand finale took place at Hollywood bowl and both Flagship Partners and Shoplight Ltd | B Corp™ came head to head once again. Teams of six bowled to their heart's content for two rounds. This was then followed by a meal where the results were called and Flagship Partners were donned champions, gaining the most points overall.

Pete Rushmer , Managing Director of Flagship Partners said; " The team and I have enjoyed all three parts of the competition. Not only was it great to socialise with Shoplight, but it was also an excellent opportunity to give something back to the community, and support such a worthwhile charity as Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group. I most enjoyed the bowling and must admit it unleashed the competitive side in me!".

A giant cheque was written on the night and £1000 has been handed over to Flagship Partners chosen charity, Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group.

Speaking to Heather Birth, Centre Manager at Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group, She said; “ Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group are the leading specialists in sexual violence within Peterborough, Fenland, and Huntingdonshire.

"We support women, girls, men & boys including transgender survivors. We provide therapeutic services and independent sexual violence advocacy support; we support people going through the criminal justice system and those who choose not to report to the police. Our services are independent and confidential.”

“ Flagship Partners ' £1000 donation will enable PRCCG to run a group for women in Peterborough for 10 weeks, starting in April. The group work will focus on making women feel worthy and part of a community, using art, music, and mindfulness.

“This is something that we have wanted to pilot but didn’t have the available funds, so the kind donation from Flagship Partners has arrived at a crucial time.”

“On behalf of PRRCG, I’d like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Flagship Partners Survivors often express that they felt alone before coming to PRCCG, this donation will help more than 50 women feel worthy and part of a community, and that will truly make an everlasting difference in their lives.”

However, in the end, there were no losers, as Mark Shortland , Managing Director of Shoplight Ltd | B Corp™ rounded off the consolation prize to £1000, which will be donated to their chosen local charity, Embrace.

Mark said; “For us, giving back has become part of our DNA. As our company has grown we realise that, not only do we play an increasingly important part directly in more people’s lives, such as our team, but we also have a growing responsibility to those around us.

“Prosperity for our team is part of why we exist but we believe we should do all we can for other organisations who deliver amazing results for people in greater need and it’s this desire that led us to support Embrace."