Local accountants’ support helps raise £2660 for bereavement counsellors The Laura Centre

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 15 March 2019

A fundraising event close to the heart of Leicestershire chartered accountancy firm Newby Castleman has raised over £2660 for local bereavement charity The Laura Centre, whilst increasing awareness of the Sam Says cycle safety campaign.   

The event was organised by the family and friends of Sam Boulton, a 26-year-old newly-qualified teacher who died outside Leicester railway station on London Road in July 2016. Sam was knocked off his bike into the path of a van when the passenger of an illegally-parked taxi opened the vehicle’s door, an action known as “car-dooring”. Sam’s family has been supported by counsellors at the Laura Centre for over two years since the incident.

Around 200 people attended the fundraiser at the Liberal Club in Wigston last month. Sam’s mother, Andy Boulton, is Accounts Administrator at Newby Castleman’s Leicester offices on 

Regent Road and was joined at the event by several of her immediate colleagues. Other members of the chartered accountants offered their support from afar: Andy sold over £180 worth of raffle tickets to her colleagues for the event, as well as more raffle tickets on the night.

The fundraiser featured a live band and catering from local food wholesaler Crowndale Foods, both of whom donated their goods and services for the event entirely free of charge. The Liberal Club also agreed to host the event for free.  

Andy said:

“The Laura Centre has been wonderful to our family over the past two and a half years; we don’t know where we’d be without them. It was fantastic to see so many people turn up to the fundraiser, including lots of my own colleagues at Newby Castleman, and everyone’s been so generous with their donations.” 

Sam’s family and friends first raised funds for The Laura Centre via a football match in 2017, the year after Sam’s death, as Sam was a keen footballer. The match raised £500 for the bereavement charity and a further £500 for Castle Rock High School in Coalville, where Sam worked and qualified as an art teacher weeks before he was killed.

On 27th July 2018, two years after Sam passed away and on what would have been his 28th birthday, several of Andy’s colleagues at Newby Castleman joined Andy’s family and local cycling enthusiasts in the Ride for Sam, which has become an annual event held in Sam’s memory.  

The Sam Says campaign was launched following Sam’s death with the aim of educating drivers and passengers about the dangers of car-dooring. Stickers designed to be placed in vehicle windows have been produced, featuring Sam’s image alongside the messages “STOP! Before you open your car door check for cyclists” and “Use the Dutch reach! Check for cyclists”. The current improvement works on London Road are taking place partly as a result of Sam’s death, to create a safer route for cyclists and pedestrians.  

Leicester City Council and local taxi firms Hansom, Swift and ADT are established supporters of the campaign and display the stickers in their vehicles. Oadby & Wigston Borough Council has also recently become involved and are offering their support, and Newby Castleman has long encouraged its employees to display the stickers.

Andy added:

“My employers and friends at Newby Castleman have been really supportive of this event and the Sam Says campaign overall. I’m very grateful to them and to everyone locally who’s spreading the message of the campaign and helping to prevent car-dooring from happening.”

Stephen Castleman, Partner at Newby Castleman, said:

“Sam’s death in 2016 was a terrible tragedy that affected all of us at Newby Castleman. We are wholehearted supporters of Andy’s fundraising and of the Sam Says campaign, and we are continuing to encourage as many people as possible to display the Sam Says stickers in their cars.”

Newby Castleman is one of the Midlands’ leading independent accountancy firms, with offices in Leicester and Loughborough. It offers a range of specialist financial services, business and tax advice for individuals and businesses. For further information, telephone the Leicester branch on 0116 254 9262, the Loughborough branch on 01509 263500 or visit the website at www.newbycastleman.co.uk. 

For more information about the Laura Centre, please visit http://thelauracentre.org.uk/.  

 

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