Over the past year, Belzona has made a positive impact across the globe through its fundraising for charity and volunteering in local communities. From mountains to mangroves, this blog will offer a roundup of last year’s charitable highlights from each of our corporate offices.
In May, 28 employees, friends and family from Belzona Harrogate took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge to raise money for fantastic causes including Cancer Research UK and the White Rose Forest. The team walked 24.5 miles climbing over 5,000 feet up and summiting all 3 major peaks in the Yorkshire Dales in a single day. It was well worth the sore legs as over £2500 was raised for charity!
This November, members of the Belzona team volunteered to help with crocus planting as part of an initiative which planted 40,000 crocuses on the Stray in Harrogate. It is believed there are around eight million crocuses scattered across The Stray in total, and their bloom in early spring has become a symbol of Harrogate. The planting was organised by North Yorkshire Council, which manages the Stray and despite the cold weather, all the bulbs were planted in record time.
To celebrate National Tree Week in November, we took part in a day of tree planting at Jacob Smith Park, Knaresborough. The team gathered in the morning with other members of the local community and representatives from Friends of Jacob Smith Park to plant a variety of native trees supplied by North Yorkshire Council and The Woodland Trust. As part of the campaign ‘Grow a Tree in 23’ the trees planted formed part of a project, organised by our local council, to plant 1000 trees in the local area.
Staff learnt about Chinese culture at Belzona’s lunar lunch 
In January, Helen Lucas, Corporate Development Coordinator for China hosted a Charity Lunar Lunch & Learn. This event allowed staff at Belzona’s Harrogate office to learn about the culture and traditions of Chinese New Year, and the significance of 2023 being the year of the rabbit. As well as being a brilliant opportunity to learn about another culture, this event raised money for Cancer Research UK and the White Rose Forest.
The Corporate Development team also hosted two brilliant charity events at Roosters Brewery in 2023. First was a fantastic Quiz Night with a raffle where the Belzona Team enjoyed a few beers and Mexican cuisine then put their knowledge to the test. Then, in September they hosted a Virtual Race Night where staff enjoyed Italian Cuisine before placing bets on the Horse Racing. These two events raised a fantastic total of over £1,500 for Cancer Research UK and the White Rose Forest.
Over in the US, the Belzona team partnered with Neat Streets Miami as part of their Million Trees Miami Initiative. The project is “a community-wide effort to achieve a 30 percent tree canopy cover for Miami-Dade County” creating a healthy and sustainable urban forest. Together, they planted more than 71 trees at a local park in the Miami-Dade County area in February, to celebrate the company’s 71st anniversary.
Increasing the number of trees in the park has a plethora of benefits. The trees serve as a natural barrier from nearby homes, enhancing the view and decreasing disturbances. Having a healthy urban forest not only enhances aesthetic appeal, but also provides communities with significant social, economic, and environmental benefits. For example, an increase in shade reduces the reliance on air conditioning, trees help control stormwater runoff, averting soil saturation, and they improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and particulate matter from the atmosphere.
On February 14th, the Belzona Asia Pacific team (BAP) volunteered to help the Mangrove Forest Restoration Project with a day of tree planting at Laem Chabang Community Mangrove Forest. In this area, close to our Thailand Office, fishing has historically played a pivotal role, sustaining the livelihoods of locals who depended on the coastal ecosystem for their income.
Mangrove planting at Laem Chabang Community Mangrove Forest 
More recently, the industrial development in the area has led to pollution and land development – posing a threat to the coastal habitat. As well as its economic importance, mangrove forests safeguard nearby land from flooding and erosion by mitigating the impact of storms and waves. The mangroves also provide fish nursery habitat, offering effective cover from predators for a range of species. Furthermore, mangroves and wetlands sequester carbon at a rate ten times greater than mature tropical forests, so restoring and protecting mangrove forests is key to fighting climate change. By volunteering their time to plant mangroves, the BAP team has helped to restore this vital coastal habitat.
In May 2023, staff members donated items such as food, books, electronic devices, and clothes to BAAN KRUJA, a branch of Anti Human Trafficking and Child Abuse Center (ATCC) in Pattaya. This organisation helps children who are victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking by giving them a home, a place to study, an opportunity to go to school, and a better quality of life.
Belzona donated food, books and clothes to BAAN KRUJA 
As the Company continued to explore building a sustainable future, Corporate Development took the initiative to collect around 30 kg of old merchandise and unwanted clothes from the Office. These items were later delivered to a waste management service provider that was committed to transforming waste and unused materials into a sustainable resource known as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF).
Throughout the year, staff members at BAP also joined activities organised by Corporate Development such as plant pot painting on World Ozone Day, Stress Awareness week, and BAP Social Badminton.
These activities have brought the team together and since September 2023, the team was able to fundraise 1,360 THB. In 2024, the BAP Office aims to fundraise a total of 10,000 THB. The agreement has been made among the staff members to donate the collected money to The Man That Rescues Dogs in Bangsaen, Chonburi.
As we move into the new year, Belzona looks forward to continuing to take part in charity fundraising and community projects in 2024.
Want to learn more about Belzona’s recent charity work?
Content Creator, Belzona Inc., Harrogate, UK.
Responsible for writing a range of content including blog posts, press releases and a range of marketing material.
