BUPA initiatives

BUPA challenges

BUPA Challenges are organised by Community Connections to support local community facilities. The programme aims to connect people who want to help out in their local community, with community partners that need some help.

The Community Connections Activities Calendar gives details of local volunteering opportunities that are taking place. You can see what's happening in your area by logging on to the Community Connections website and clicking on the activities calendar logo. The calendar provides numerous opportunities in a variety of different areas, some of which include: children, disability, education, the environment, health, the homeless, the elderly, team leadership, sport and youth.

Community Connections is also happy to help organise practical team building challenges for you and your colleagues. If you and your team members would like to participate in a team building activity that also helps to benefit a local community facility, please click here to contact the Community Connections team.

BUPA Challenges are run across the UK, over 2-3 days. Teams of BUPA employees get involved in practical challenges set up by local community partners. Community Connections worked with BITC's national Cares network to deliver the BUPA Leeds, Salford Quays and London Challenges.

BUPA Leeds Challenge - St George's Crypt, June 2001

In June 2001, Community Connections organised 35 BUPA people from BUPA Cares Services, BUPA Wellness, Methley Park Hospital and Roundhay Hospital to help renovate the interior and gardens of St George's Crypt in Leeds.

St George's Crypt provides support for disadvantaged people through care centres, medical advice, residential homes and other services. The challenge saved St George's Crypt £30,000.

"On behalf of everybody here at St George's Crypt I would like to thank you and your team very much indeed for everything you did to make the BUPA Leeds Challenge such a great success. We so much appreciated the hard work that you all put in but also I think it is important to state that I think that you all found it good fun! It was obviously also a most important team building opportunity for yourselves and I think we got some good publicity out of it as well."
Martin Patterson
Fundraising Manager
St George's Crypt

BUPA London Challenge - Coram Family, November 2001

BUPA employees from BUPA Wellness at Battlebridge House and BUPA House decorating the Coram Family Community campus in central London.

In November 2001, Community Connections organised 75 BUPA people from BUPA Wellness at Battlebridge House and BUPA House to transform the Coram Family Community campus in central London.

The centre has been providing advice and support for vulnerable children and their families since it was founded by Thomas Coram in 1739. The BUPA team decorated two creche areas, several offices and the toilets at the campus, saving the charity an estimated £20,000.

BUPA Salford Quays Challenge - Salford Playhouse Theatre, November 2001

On 22, 23 and 24 November 2001, Community Connections organised 120 BUPA people from BUPA's Salford Quays offices, together with colleagues from Manchester Hospital, to refurbish Salford's Playhouse Theatre. The BUPA team cleaned, painted and polished both dressing rooms and public areas, and rebuilt the stage, making it more accessible for disabled users.

BUPA employees from BUPA's Salford Quay's offices re-cover a chair during the Salford Playhouse Theatre Challenge.

After lying empty for five years, the Salford Playhouse Theatre was re-opened in 2001 as a non-profit organisation. The work of the BUPA team saved the theatre an estimated £45,000.

"The stage is fantastic and the dressing rooms are superb too. I could carry on describing all the things that look different forever so I will just say to us, the team, it is a new theatre… I can't wait for tonight to see the faces on all the kids and their parents when they walk in and witness the transformation. I am sure they will be just as amazed as we were. Could you please pass our thanks on to ALL the staff who helped us achieve something we have only dreamt about for the past two years. We fully enjoyed working with you all and I hope you all enjoyed it too."
Gary Murray
Theatre Director
Salford Playhouse

Community Connections will be launching similar Challenges in Bristol, Brighton and Staines later this year.

BUPA Challenges - Team Leader Training

Team Leader Training is an informal training session for people wishing to develop a personal development route into a role as a team leader. Team Leaders will have the opportunity to develop key competencies in leadership, negotiating, organising, delegation, risk assessment, Health & Safety and other project management skills.