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Aura Print Diary: Our Charity Fundraising And Sponsorships
We’ve had a fantastic team of people working with us since our early days, putting in some serious work and creating one heck of a backstory for Aura Print. From charity events and free printed signage for local organisations, right up to professional sports sponsorships, we’ve put countless hours into our partnerships over the years.
Let’s take a look at some of our fundraisers, sponsorships and general company news from way back when – starting with this twisting tale of three dauntless printers, who conquered the wild hills of deepest Cumbria…
Coast 2 Coast Charity Bike Ride
Members of our team cycled the Coast 2 Coast route, Workington to Sunderland, to raise money for The Forget Me Not Children's Hospice based in Huddersfield. The route spanned 117 miles, crossing the Pennines, which we hoped to complete in two gruelling days.
Over the next couple of months, Grant (third photo, left), Andy (right) and I would have to train extremely hard (y’know, being print specialists and everything, rather than seasoned athletes). The route we would take included some off-road tracks, so mountain bikes definitely seemed like a wise choice.
We went in with a plan. The first day would see us cycling through Keswick and then Penrith. We would finish the day by climbing Hartside pass, just inside the Pennines, after which we would drop a few miles down the other side to our overnight stay, a youth hostel near Alston.
Our second day would continue through the hilly Pennines, following cycle paths for the last 20 miles into Sunderland, and eventually reaching the coast.
Having built a Just Giving page, we hoped to raise a total of £600 in the two months leading up to the ride itself. We hoped that this would come from generous donations, while Aura Print would donate 1% of its turnover from 17th May until 18th June 2010, when we set off.
…So, did we hit our fundraising target? Yes. We absolutely did. (Which, between just 18 people, really wasn’t that bad at all. Thanks again, everyone!)
Coast 2 Coast Charity Bike Ride – It Was Tough!
Wow, that was hard!
Beginning our journey on a warm Friday evening, things started out well for the Aura Print team. We travelled to Workington and went out for a few naïve beers, whilst watching an England football match on a pub TV.
We woke the next morning to a full English breakfast in our B & B, and then we were off.
Unfortunately our accommodation was a few miles from the coast, so we started the ride by travelling backwards! But the mood that Saturday morning was great. 'This’ll be easy', we told ourselves.
We made two stops in Keswick and Penrith for food and refreshment that passed quite quickly, but the real challenge was to come as we reached the Pennines. All day, other riders had warned us about the dreaded Hartside Pass. 'It goes on forever', they told us, in hushed and jaded voices. 'An eight-mile climb,' they cautioned us. But their warnings were not taken seriously.
And so we came to it at last. Hartside Pass proved to be the highest point of our journey, but that wasn’t what made it so tough. It was more the length of time involved in that snail-slow climb, where the same gradient seem to stretch on for miles.
Legs burning, lungs aching, we stuck at it regardless. The road in front climbed and climbed, rounding corners and passing woods, until eventually it became so steep that our route began to twist toward the summit. But tough as it was, we definitely had a rewarding view from the crest.
It Was Both Mentally And Physically Challenging.
Our slog up Hartside Pass was followed by an easy, windy, five-mile downhill roll to our youth hostel in Anstel.
We’d arrived; we could finally give ourselves a break from the bikes. We all laid on the floor in the hallway, legs in the air for the next hour, trying to get the lactic acid to flow out of our muscles. Then we made our way into town for tea, just making it before last orders!
The following day’s ride seemed harder still, maybe due to our seized muscles. The first few hours were spent escaping the Pennines, with twenty-minute climbs, only to freewheel down the other side in five minutes – and then repeat.
I lost count of how many times we rolled over yet another grassy mountain. But once free from the boundless climbs, we were left with a short, mercifully flat journey to Sunderland. This was probably the easiest ride of the two days, though with our tired legs the miles just didn't seem to be coming down. All told, this last leg of the journey took almost two hours to complete.
We finally arrived at the water's edge in the late afternoon, to a small welcome party of family and friends. We had a great, challenging time and all vowed to do it again, (or similar,) next year!
Aura Print Sponsor Huddersfield Giants
Having a keen interest in local sport, Aura Print are pleased to announce that they sponsor Huddersfield Giants. You can see our advertisement custom banners on one of the stands facing the crowd, sponsors and boxes.
We are excited about this new collaboration and hope to support the Giants through this season and beyond!
Leroy Cudjoe Gave Aura Print A Signed Shirt
Ok, so we at Aura Print do try to wash our own shirts every day, but one which definitely isn’t going through the washing machine is the England training top given to us by Leroy Cudjoe after the Rugby World Cup in Australia. A bit of framed history, right here in the Aura Print office!
Wakefield Wildcats RFL sponsorship
Following on from a successful relationship with the Huddersfield Giants RFL, Aura Print are delighted to have secured another rugby sponsorship deal, this time with local team the Wakefield Wildcats. We advertised around their grounds and sponsored players Matt Blaymire and Matthew Wildie for the 2011 season.
Aura Print Sponsor Huddersfield Town
Aura Print sponsored the Npower League 1 game, Huddersfield Town vs. Rochdale match at the John Smith's Stadium. We worked closely with Huddersfield town to create their Huddersfield Town Top Trumps playing cards. It was a pleasure to print their prototype game and their final versions which were sold in 2020. We are avid supporters of our local football team and we hope to see you there cheering on the Terriers!
Aura Print Signage Boards At Wakefield Wildcats Stadium
When the question is asked, “football or rugby?” we at Aura Print like to stay neutral. But when the chance to sponsor the Wakefield Wildcats came to our door we couldn’t say no. We love rugby, and being located in Huddersfield (the birthplace of the rugby league), we jumped at this amazing opportunity.
Aura Print is proud to be the official sponsors of Wakefield Wildcats players Danny Kirmond, who joined the Wildcats from previous teams the Featherstone Rovers and Huddersfield Giants; and Matt Wildie, who joined the Wildcats from previous club Stanley Rangers ARLFC.
The sponsorship has proven mutually beneficial, as Aura Print were asked to print and install the advertisement boards around the home of the Wildcats, the Rapid Solicitors Stadium.
These advertisement boards were installed before the season began, and have been seen at every home game by more than 1,000 rugby league fans every week. The companies that chose to advertise around the stadium are MRF Engineering, Blacks Solicitors, Harrats, H.B Clark, West Yorkshire Windows and Eitex IT Support.
We look forward to supporting the success of the Wakefield Wildcats in this season and the next!
Continued Support Of The Wakefield Wildcats
For the past two seasons, Aura Print have sponsored both Danny Kirmond and Matt Wilde of The Wakefield Wildcats Super League team. Due to continued success, and being a good source of new revenue, we have decided to continue Aura Print’s sponsorship for a further season.
This weekend’s game got us some great coverage on Sky TV, one of the many times that the TV cameras caught our clear, well-designed advertising board. We're looking forward to plenty more advertising opportunities to come, and everyone here at Aura Print wishes the whole team the best of luck this season.
We’re also happy to say the Wildcats had a convincing win in Saturday's game against Hull KR. Keep up the good work lads!
Aura Print Made Custom Banners For Huddersfield Stadium
The Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice care for children experiencing life-shortening conditions. They support families in many ways to make life easier. Based in Huddersfield, the charity wanted custom banners printing. We printed two banners, placed at the side of the pitch at the John Smith’s stadium. These banners would advertise the Trust, with their logo and contact information easily visible to the stadium’s crowds.
Aura Print produced the banners free of charge, helping to raise awareness through the large audience footfall at the stadium.
Aura Print Sponsor The Laura Crane Trust
The Laura Crane Trust is a local charity for children and young adults, created to fund medical research into the specific types of cancer that affect people in this group. They also offer support to all 39 of the hospitals in the UK that treat teenage cancer.
Upon opening a new office in the town centre, the Laura Crane Trust asked Aura Print to help out with their signage and branding. We supplied and fitted (free of charge) an 8ft x 3ft banner, along with some contravision 2-way vinyl to an exterior door. (We're well-versed in the design and fitting of window stickers and decals!) This branding was in place for the new office’s grand opening by the Mayor of Huddersfield in 2015.
Flyers And Pull Up Banners For Music Extravaganza
Howarth’s are an established family-run business who specialise in providing HR, Employment Law and Health and Safety advice to other businesses. They hosted a Musical Extravaganza evening at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield. Headlined by the Hollies lead singer Peter Howarth, the evening of food and live music was held in aid of local charity The Forget Me Not Trust.
The Aura Print team supplied the tickets and provided printed promotional leaflets and roller banners free of charge, helping to increase awareness and attendance of the event, and contributing towards its success.
So there you go! This was just a quick glimpse of the partnerships and sponsored events we’ve been involved with over the years. Our team here at Aura Print are just as passionate about good causes as they are with printing our clients’ business cards, flyers, invites and business cards... really any print products you can think of!
To learn more about our full range of products, and for how to order prints online with Aura Print. Or you can get in touch with our team by emailing them: infouk@aura-print.com or phoning 01484 429 300.
