THE team at Spark Energy have been extremely active, collecting almost �2,000 during a major charity campaign.

THE team at Spark Energy have been extremely active, collecting almost �2,000 during a major charity campaign.

Over the course of six months, the Selkirk-based employees of the energy company have been taking part in four separate initiatives, each contributing to a different charity.

One of the most successful drives was a �742 donation to local organisation, The Margaret Kerr Unit, a building in the Borders General Hospital which houses a Specialist Palliative Care Team which provides assistance across the entire Southern region.

A whole range of fun and sometimes ‘painful’ events took place to amass the �1.800 amount including Valentine’s themed days, a sponsored leg waxing event and various competitions (guess the number of sweets in the jar, name the teddy).

Additionally the staff at Spark Energy collected the following sums for Children in Need, its national charity, Cancer Research and on Red Nose Day: �246 for Children In Need, �300 for Cancer Research and �600 for Red Nose Day.

Speaking about the charity donations, Chris Gauld, chief executive officer at Spark Energy said: “This is a fantastic achievement by the team at Spark and I’m immensely proud of all which they have contributed. As a company, we continually aspire to help out in the local community and these recent charity efforts reflect that. To raise such a great sum which will benefit four different organisations is excellent and I know they will each put the funds to good use.

“I’d like to thank our staff for all of the hard work which made this possible and I look forward to further charity fundraising in the future.” The first palliative care facility in the Borders, the Margaret Kerr Unit, was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 2013.

The site is named after the West Linton nurse whose legacy helped to kick-start fundraising for the project.

The remainder of the funds for the unit - which cost more than �4m - came from a variety of sources including more than �1m from a public appeal.

Morven Paterson, fundraising officer at The Margaret Kerr Unit, said: “We are utterly delighted that Spark Energy’s team have chosen to support The Margaret Kerr Unit and palliative care in the Borders this year through their staff fundraising. Their donation will be used for the benefit of patients in the Borders who require palliative care.”