Next month, Richard Grafton, Head of Policy & Compliance, will be taking part in the Bangers and Cash Rally, driving the 1,047km route with Director Craig Finn and Whittam Cox Architects' Director Dave Savage.
We spoke to Richard about his involvement in the popular rally, raising funds for Sheffield-based Roundabout and how the charity event strengthens partnerships with companies like Whittam Cox Architects.
So, what is the ‘Bangers and Cash’ rally?
The Bangers and Cash event is a rally and mobile art exhibition in cars with bonnets painted by local artists - all the way from Sheffield to Munich. There is also an art exhibition and auction dinner after the event auctioning off the artwork.
The event raises money for Roundabout, a youth homeless charity based in Sheffield who work with young people to provide shelter, support, and life skills. We’ll be driving a 2004 Volvo C70, with the bonnet designed by a local artist which looks great.
Have you done the rally before?
Yes, this will be the second time I have taken part in the event. We did the event back in 2018 where we scoped the ‘Top Fundraiser’ trophy with my late colleague Dave Woodhouse. This year, in tribute to Dave, the fundraising trophy will be named the David Woodhouse award.
Can you tell us a bit more about Roundabout?
Roundabout is South Yorkshire’s local youth housing charity. They provide shelter, support and life skills to young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
I have supported Roundabout over a number of years taking part in several fundraising events for them including the 2018 Bangers and Cash event, as well as winter Sleep outs. All the events are designed to raise funds and awareness of youth homelessness.
During these times when we’re facing a cost-of-living crisis and the post-pandemic world, we have to be even more aware of youth homelessness and therefore supporting fantastic charities like Roundabout is vitally important.
How important is it to develop professional, and personal partnerships, with the likes of Whittam Cox Architects?
We have a great commercial partnership with Whittam Cox Architects and I’m so pleased that we can join together in our ambition to help build a better future for young people.
In terms of building relationships, I’m really looking forward to this event and continuing to build a great relationship with Dave and the wider Whittam Cox team.
Beyond the relationships in our team, it is wonderful to see 40 different teams based in Sheffield taking part in this rally and raising money for a local charity. Throughout the event, you build relationships with all the teams and so I’m really looking forward to that.
Henry Boot and their subsidiary companies have been dedicated supporters of our charity for many years. They have raised thousands of pounds to help us continue our vital work in the South Yorkshire region. They have also sponsored our Homeless Prevention Service, meaning we have a welcoming place for young people who are homeless or at risk to come and receive advice.
We are fortunate to have received event sponsorship over the years from Henry Boot too, and Richard Grafton is a regular participant at our annual Sleep Out events! We are delighted that he’s once again taking part in our Bangers and Cash car rally, and having the David Woodhouse award in recognition of all of David’s support last time meant a lot to us here at Roundabout. We look forward to awarding this to a worthy winner after the rally.
The money raised in this event really will make an enormous difference to the many services we provide to support some of South Yorkshire’s most vulnerable young people, and we’d like to thank Henry Boot and their subsidiaries for all their dedicated support.Emily Bush, Fundraising Manager, Roundabout
To find out more about Roundabout’s work visit their website at https://www.roundabouthomeless.org/
