Crane Garden Buildings adds new addition to Norfolk Blood Bikes fleet

Each year, Crane Garden Buildings allocates a percentage of its annual turnover to a charitable cause as part of its commitment to the wider community. Known as The Crane Citizenship Committee, this employee-led initiative seeks to give back to a variety of worthy causes each year, with the annual charity being nominated by Crane staff themselves.

Employees are invited to put forward a suggestion before the final organisation is determined via an internal vote. Last year, Alzheimer’s Research was the elected charity, which enabled Crane Garden Buildings to gift a significant donation towards raising awareness and undertaking important research into the different types of dementia. More than 1 million people in the UK are affected by the currently incurable disease and 34 million people know someone affected by it, making it a very prominent and topical issue.  

This year, in  2024, a chance encounter meant that the charity Norfolk Blood Bikes became the charity of choice. After spotting the organisation raising funds in a supermarket local to Crane’s HQ in Norfolk, a Crane employee put forward the name and it was subsequently chosen from this years’ selection. 

Norfolk Blood Bikes’ primary purpose is to transport urgent or emergency blood & blood products throughout the county of Norfolk, servicing the three primary hospitals and other ‘satellite’ locations that operate under the same NHS Trusts. What makes this especially challenging is that there are no motorways, yet the county is home to over 900,000 people and is the sixth largest in the UK. Run entirely by volunteers at no extra cost to the NHS, Norfolk Blood Bikes operates a fully livered fleet of 11 motorcycles and 4 cars and their monthly running costs sit at around £5000. 

With the donation from Crane Garden Buildings, Norfolk Blood Bikes has been able to expand its fleet with the addition of a new Triumph Tiger GT Pro sourced from another local business, Lings Triumph. As a thank you for the donation, Crane had the privilege of naming the new bike which was put down to a staff vote. The bike has been aptly named Pulse.

By aligning with Norfolk Blood Bikes, Crane Garden Buildings demonstrates a commitment to supporting essential healthcare services and making a tangible difference in the lives of those in need. They will be continuing to work with them throughout the year on other fundraising events.