OGT has an elected Charity Committee to co-ordinate distribution of agreed funds. In addition, some of the income from licensing microarray technology has been used to fund charities supporting scientific advancement.
The Kirkhouse Trust was established by our company founder, Prof. Sir Edwin Southern, to promote education and research in the Natural Sciences, as well as the Edina Trust, which was founded to promote science in schools.
OGT is also active in training the next generation of scientists through offering 12-month placement opportunities to undergraduate students plus work experience to school students.
We have an active re-cycling policy and strive to minimize the company carbon footprint. Waste laboratory chemicals are disposed of safely and within strict guidelines.
In financial year 2022-2023 OGT's Charity Committee has so far raised money for the following charities:
Below are some of the fundraising events OGT colleagues have taken part in or organized.
Our OGT colleague Graham Halford took to the roads to complete Ride London, cycling 100-miles to raise money for the Platelet Society. When we asked Graham if he’d had an ice bath to aid recovery he responded, “No ice bath, but the wife is bringing me cups of tea, so almost as good!”
There were cakes galore at the Barrington Primary School Fun Run, where OGT’s Gemma Williamson raised a fantastic £512 on her stall, which will go towards activities for the children to do at the school. Of the day Gemma commented, “It was a lovely day, the children ran lots of laps of the 1km route, most in fancy dress. We had a couple adult 3-legged races too, which were very funny to watch!”
A big thank you to all OGT colleagues who ran, walked or cycled during the month of June 2020 for the Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge in order to raise money for Sobell House. In total, OGT colleagues completed 1,033.91 miles and raised a fantastic £1,315.
Asylum Welcome food bank provides a weekly food bag for people in urgent need who fled persecution and danger in their own countries and are seeking refuge in Oxford and Oxfordshire. To support Asylum Welcome, OGT colleagues donated a trolley-full of groceries and household items.
Well done to Lucy Georgieva, whose delicious Victoria sponge won over the hearts (and tummies!) of the OGT Bake Off judges. But it wasn’t just about gobbling down lots of delicious baked treats, the OGT Bake Off also helped raise £250 for Children In Need.
Not put off by the pouring rain, four OGT colleagues pounded the pavements of Oxford to complete the Oxford Half Marathon. Their efforts helped raise a brilliant £433.92 for Sobell House, a local Oxford-based hospice dedicated to providing specialist palliative care and support to adult, patients, their family, friends and carers.
OGT was proud to sponsor and take part in the annual Sobell House golf day at Studley Wood Golf Club. Whilst the quality of the golf on display from the OGT team was questionable, the money raised from this fantastic event will help Sobell House continue to provide specialist palliative and end of life care services to people across Oxfordshire.
Natalie from REED Specialist Recruitment was delighted (and a little surprised!) by the EGGceptionally large donation of Easter eggs from the kind-hearted folk at OGT. REED will be delivering all the eggs they collect to the five children’s wards at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, and to the team at I.M.P.S.
A big thank you to everyone from OGT, as well as our colleagues at Sysmex, who took part in The Big Walk – a 50km walk along the Grand Union canal. Their efforts helped raise a wonderful £732 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
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