A very 50th Christmas

People from our Devon office, our Bristol team, and our remote staff around the UK and North America showed their support for the causes close to their hearts. Many of these are captured in the video above; for the full list of Bray Leino donors and to learn more about where our Christmas gifts went this year, please read on...

1. Steve Holman rewarded local Christmas light displays fundraising for charities.
2. Nikki Dyer donated £50 towards playground improvements at a local primary school.
3. Tim Mabin donated playground toys (skipping ropes etc) to a local primary school.
4. Tash Ovey donated a hamper each to two elderly neighbours.
5. Lauren Lloyd donated £50 to Don’t' Just Bin It, who used it to help a local woman shop at the Fremington Community Pantry.
6. Ali Fewings made a donation to Childrens Hospice South West, providing care for young people living with life-limiting conditions and their families.
7. Gavin Mackintosh made a £50 donation towards refreshments for crew of the local fire station.
8. Kay Wright gave boxes of chocolates to local suppliers to the Devon office.
9. Isobel Powderhill gave £50 to Ilfracombe Dog's Trust because, where she previously adopted her dog, Nova.
10. Dylan James and Sarah Knowles, our colleagues in Canada, donated to the Swish Nish Shoe Drive. Swish Nish is a basketball and volleyball programme in Kenora (Canada’s Northern Territories) for Indigenous girls. Their goal is to collect gently worn, or new, shoes for athletes in the community after players were having to share shoes. 
11. Kelly Turner donated £50 towards South Molton in Bloom, the money funded a floral display on the church grounds close to Bray Leino's Devon office.
12. Jill Hoskins gave to Landkey Allotment association who are raising funds to create a communal water saving area for all allotment owners. The solution makes renting an allotment more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) for local residents and could also create a surplus produce area to give back free fruit and veg to the community.
13. Nat Plows gave a mum at her children's school £50: "I know she's already relying on food banks and is worried about how she will sort Christmas. £50 would mean so much to her."
14. Steve Chambers supported 'Spot an NHS worker', a scheme which encourages people to donate to health service workers when spotted running errands in their uniform.
15. Alan Wilks gave to the local RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution): "Donations are so important to them and their work is incredibly brave and fearless in such dangerous situations. Lives are literally being saved everyday. They are incredible people."
16. Belinda Chin donated £50 to medical and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
17. Adam Holder delivered advent caleandars to CLIC House Bristol, a Home from Home close to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children offering free accommodation for families to stay close to their child when they're having cancer treatment.
18. Jess Roseveare has been visiting an elderly gentleman and helping him with his weekly tasks (eg, shopping) since April 2020. As he is no longer able to drive or leave his house without additional support, Jess used the £50 to take him out for the day.
19. Nicola Roberts helped a local stranger with their food shop.
20. Hannah Furber supported Dreamflight, a UK charity that takes children with a serious illness or disability on their holiday of a lifetime to Orlando.
21. Kandice Quain directed her random act of kindness to Wood Street Mission - a charity that provides for children from low income households.
22. Patrick Furse provided shopping for an Afghan family resettled at Chivenor, close to the Devon office.
23. Steph Medhurst donated five Christmas Eve boxes for children staying at the NDADA (North Devon Against Domestic Abuse) refuge over Christmas. NDADA provides temporary refuge to women and children who have suffered domestic abuse.
24. Sharzeen Aman donated £50 to thetoyproject.co.uk, which recycles unwanted toys and raises money through toys to provide toys to children, families, communities and organisations such as hospitals and schools.
25. Dan Truscott gave to Exmoor Search/Rescue: "The real 4th emergency service and not government funded, who not only recover walkers and hikers in distress but also spend a lot of time looking for missing people."
26. John Hudson donated to The Ryan Neuro MS Therapy Centre, a small, self-funded charity for people with Neurological conditions who use exercise and Physiotherapy to help.
27. Becky Payne put £50 towards Delta Youth art space for young people in Ilfracombe, a local space where young people can feel secure and valued and establish supportive relationships with the team and peers.
28. Charlotte Marsh donated £50 towards the rehabilitation of a friend who suffered life-changing injuries after an accident in April 2022.
29. Emma Cottle gave to RDA Exeter, a group which provides free, safe horse riding facilities for children with disabilities.
30. Issy Leach donated to The Wave Project - a charity helping improve children's mental health and wellbeing through an award winning Surf Therapy programme.
31. Shellie Magson gave to Able2uk (#StopTheShadow), an organisation that promotes inclusivity and accessibility for people with all disabilities. 
32. Meg Stacey donated children's books to South Molton library specifically around our cultural pillars (Green, ED&I, Wellness, Community, CPD).
33. Fiona Beauchamp gave to Everything Ellie, a local charity helping teen cancer sufferers.
34. Alicja Howard supported the team who provide our weekly summer circuit classes. Work It With a Circuit runs a session on Wednesdays for people with additional needs.
35. Sam Crocker donated £50 worth of food to Pilton School's kids food bank.
36. Kate Cox made a donation to a newly single mother on Cape Verde to buy nappies and other necessities she was struggling to afford.
37. Chloe Stickland gave to The Gardeners Collective, a community gardening project founded in North Devon which encourages connection with nature through exploration of the garden. 
38. Archie Baker gave £50 towards Calvert Exmoor, who provide accessible activity breaks for people with physical, learning, behavioural, sensory and complex disabilities, alongside friends, family & carers.
39. Tony Woollacott donated to the Food pantry Combe Martin, a Community food bank.
40. Kyla Manenti gave to The Plough Arts Centre Torrington, an arts venue and cultural hub in a small town not far from the Devon office.
41. Lou Shaw gave £50 to Age UK.
42. Dale Johnson gave to the British Heart Foundation.
43. Shelby Lack nominated Beaford Arts to receive £50. The organisation, not far from the Devon office, connects artists and communities.
44. Kirsty Perfect donated to Age Concern UK Eastbourne.
45. Chris Harris gave £50 to Active Martial Arts North Devon, the CIC run by Union Karate Do club based in Braunton. It’s their not for profit arm that encourages inclusivity and diversity in martial arts classes.
46. Tim Pike supported Families in Grief, a local charity providing bereavement support to children, young people and their families.
47. Rhys Gynne gave to ChemoHero, a North Devon charity providing care packages to patients undergoing chemotherapy.
48. Chris Drew gave to Exmoor pony society, a Devon charity protecting Britain's oldest breed of native pony.
49. Alex Dodd bought a voucher for the gardening volunteer of a local school.
50. Sarah Loder chose to support a village hall close to the Devon office by purchasing a new lectern.