Williamson Dickies Europe Ltd, from Midsomer Norton, have been working hard to raise much needed funds for their chosen charity, Time is Precious.

The company, 300 employees strong, set up a social committee who have decided to raise money for a different charity every year by completing challenges and putting on events throughout the year.

In December, they put on an event, ‘12 Days of Christmas’ within the business, which included a new event and theme each day, including a raffle supported by local businesses in the area with hampers, beauty vouchers and flowers. Through this, they managed to raise £630, which was doubled when the Company Directors agreed to match what they had raised.

Caroline Candy, who works in International Sales at the company, said: “Our Company Directors matching what we raised meant that Tom Rossie, the Finance Director, was able to present Neil and Nicky, at Time is Precious, with a £1,260 cheque, which is incredible and a lot more than we initially thought.

“The money is going to a brilliant cause and we know that it is going to help so many people. We are hoping that we can continue to raise money for different charities every year and turn each event into a fun activity for everyone in the company.”

Nicky Halford, who set up Time is Precious, with her husband, Neil, told The Journal: “The money is going towards putting a specialised DVD machine in the MRI Scanner at the Royal United Hospital. There are only a few of these machines in the country, so this will be an amazing addition to the RUH, as it will allow adults to use it to lower stress and anxiety levels, and will hopefully mean that children will not have to go under as much anaesthetic, as they will be distracted.”

Neil and Nicky Halford set up the charity in 2011, in memory of their son, Ben. After spending countless hours in hospitals, the couple realised that there was little-to-no funding for equipment to keep seriously ill children occupied or to help support the families who spend their time in hospital with their loved ones. Since then, they have been working incredibly hard to raise funds to get sensory and interactive equipment into local hospitals.