Alexander Pope Essay on Man (ep. III, l. 307)

Hayley Mitchell, Second Year Trainee reports on the Social and Charitable Activities throughout the year.

Charity and lawyers are not that naturally associated words. The wealth of lawyer-bashing jokes will tell you that the general caricature does not include generosity and philanthropy. I would like to attempt to reject the stereotype (to this extent) by boasting about the fantastic work James & George Collie has done for charity this year (pride and vanity are parts of the stereotype I will be leaving well alone!).

 James and George Collie dedicates itself to good and charitable causes in various ways. The firm participates in the Aberdeen Citizen’s Advice Bureau rota, supplying a solicitor for two days every eight weeks to give free and impartial advice to members of the public. The firm is also the proud 2010/2011 sponsor for Blackburn Amateur Football Club. Our own Anne-Maryse Churchill sets aside two of her lunch hours every week to host a very popular exercise class for staff members. The staff pay a small donation to the firm’s Charity Fund at every class which has amounted to a generous contribution.

James and George Collie also dedicates a fund throughout the year for the Social Committee to host social events. The purpose of this is twofold: it is excellent for staff relations as staff feel they are appreciated and valued but crucially it allows the Social Committee to host events with the purpose of raising money for the Charity Fund. This year these have taken the form of raffles, themed nights including Cocktails and St Patrick’s Day, pot-luck lunches and extra special nights such as the very successful Pamper Evening. We also entered a staff team to the Baker Hughes 10K run and raised money through sponsor ship for the Charity Fund.

We are delighted to confirm that through all the combined efforts we have raised almost £2,200 this year for our Charity Fund! This money will be split between four deserving charitable bodies that have been nominated by the staff at James & George Collie. The chosen Charities are: Lupus UK,  Befriend a Child, Alzheimers, Scotland Little Hearts Matter.

James and George Collie are proud to thank the generous staff for reaching into their pockets all year, congratulations on a truly fantastic effort!