AABIE Raises an Amazing £100,000 for Good Causes

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has this month made a very big thank you to its staff following an incredible amount of time and dedication they have given to the firm’s charity; The Anderson Anderson & Brown Charitable Initiative (AABIE).

AABIE is the platform which facilitates all at AAB to invest in the communities in which they operate by seeking partnerships with charities and inviting applications for donations, grants and volunteer time. The staff of AAB deliver all the volunteer time and raise all the grant funding and thanks to them, in the year and a half AABIE has been operating, the charity has allocated an incredible £100,000 of grant funding to 57 charities and donated over 3,300 volunteer hours.

The £100,000 raised has provided an extremely diverse range of support to different causes including education initiatives ranging from scholarships to safety education trips. Health and wellbeing initiatives also range from ground-breaking research in specialist fields to funding physical rehabilitation equipment, in addition to providing kit for sports groups including golf, football, hockey, rugby, netball, gymnastics, horse riding and rock-climbing. AABIE has also assisted community care groups with funding towards specialist equipment, clothing, dedicated events and group activities, including sponsoring and participating in Peterhead’s Cancer Research Relay for Life and funding equipment and donating volunteering time to renovate the gardens at The Barn in Banchory.

Volunteer time has seen AAB staff gardening across Aberdeen City and Shire, preparing and clearing an area of forest at Easter Anguston Farm, with another team heading out to replant the area and participate in 10 different education and mentoring initiatives. AAB have also hosted multiple afternoon tea events for Contact the Elderly and the Edinburgh office spent a day cleaning up Portobello Beach.

In addition to this, AABIE run monthly charity awareness campaigns which see different causes engage with staff and visitors at their Aberdeen office, showcasing the work they do by displays and presentations.

One of the charities which has benefited from AABIE is Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Aberdeen. The charity requested funding for a new riding pony and its equipment so that they could increase the number of horse riding lessons they provide to disabled children and adults in Aberdeen. These lessons are offered free of charge and through their new pony, Teddy, RDA Aberdeen has increased their group capacity by 50%.

In addition to Aberdeen RDA, the Paul Lawrie Charitable Foundation has also benefitted from AABIE. The charity requested grant funding for their “Grass Roots” golf programme so that they would expand it to include children from all backgrounds. The programme provides opportunities for juniors of all ages to start playing and enjoying golf at all levels, helping them to understand the etiquette in addition to the skills and techniques.

Karen Stewart, AABIE Trustee, commented “as trustees, we can only decide on the charities we work with because of our staff – it is incredible to see what they have achieved in such as short space of time. A huge thank you goes out to them as without them the work we do through AABIE simply wouldn’t be possible. We are so proud of our team and are grateful of their approach to the work of AABIE.

The funds donated and volunteer hours are quite remarkable but it truly is the feedback we get from charities and their user groups which makes the work that AABIE does really hit home. We are grateful to the wonderful causes for their work and engagement with AABIE and are delighted to build relationships with them and play a small part in their continued success.

We really do care about the communities in which we operate and look forward to working alongside even more fantastic causes as time goes on.”

AABIE is currently inviting applications for donations, grants and volunteer time.

Find out more about AABIE.

Pictured (top photo): Karen Stewart of AABIE (centre) with Muriel Simpson (left) and Rhiannon Fraser of Aberdeen RDA with Teddy

Pictured (bottom photo): Sheena Anderson of AABIE with Fletcher Riach & Riley Reid (right) taking part in the Grass Roots golf programme at the Paul Lawrie Foundation