BPCA member company Contego got off the ground in 2004, following funding support from the Prince's Trust charity. 

Now going from strength-to-strength, Contego's CEO Michael Taylor talks about the value in paying it forward and giving back to your communities.

Giving back is so important in business and in life.

We can all do a little more than we are right now, I'm sure you will agree.

Part of our company values at Contego is ‘To support each other’: this applies not only to our teams, but also the wider community as a whole.

Back in April 2004 I was an 18 year-old lad with a vision of building a specialist bird control business here in the North East of England.

The Prince's Trust, through their generosity, gave me a £500 grant and a £1500 business loan which allowed me to kick start what is today Contego.

The vision changed slightly over the years as we opened our horizon and concentrated on pest control nationally.

But we haven't forgotten the help, support and mentoring given by the Prince's Trust charity over 15 years ago, a charity that relies on fund-raising and volunteers.

2019 was a year of giving back once again for the team at Contego.

I completed two CEO sleep outs in different parts of the UK, raising money and awareness for local homelessness charities.

Our head office team took part in 'Wear It Pink Day' on the 18th October, a fun day raising money for Breast Cancer Now on which we raised a fantastic £300+ for the charity.

And some of our team members strapped on their trainers for the Great North Run in September, raising money for Cancer Research UK. 

It's not all about just raising money though: you can get involved in more ways than one, with local and national charities.

I recently offered my support to the Prince's Trust as a mentor, where I'll be supporting people like me with a passion to be self-employed and grow a business.

At the same time, Kirsty Taylor is a campaigns ambassador for Cancer Research UK.

This is a voluntary role which sees Kirsty work with her local MP and representatives, to raise awareness and support for the charity's current campaigns.

For me giving back is so important: it's been embedded in our company culture at Contego from day one, through the generosity of a charity organisation and we strive to pay that forward in as many ways as we can.

At the end of last year BPCA held a poll on social media and later announced their chosen charity for 2020 is Prostate Cancer UK. They've already begun their fundraising efforts. 

As a group of companies within the BPCA, wouldn't it be amazing if we all just did a little bit more?

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