As part of Collingwood’s commitment to their chosen charity of the year; Children’s Cancer North, the team hosted a Thankathon fundraiser evening on Friday 2nd October 2026.
The Thankathon was a brand new concept suggested by Children’s Cancer North, designed to celebrate supporters who fundraised for the charity whilst running the Great North Run in September 2026.
As part of the event, over 40 members of Collingwood staff alongside friends and family volunteered their Friday evening to put the call centre equipment to good use, calling up Great North Runners to say thank you for supporting Children’s Cancer North.
The team ran a tombola and other activities throughout the night to raise further funds for the great cause and raised a grand total of over £400, as well as calling and thanking over 250 runners. This is one of many fundraising events that Collingwood staff have been involved in throughout the year, including Coastal Walks, Three Peaks Challenge and inhouse tombolas, raffles and other incentives, all leading to a collective total of over £6000 raised for Children’s Cancer North, with more activities planned for the rest of the year.
Tiago Santos, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Children’s Cancer North, shared, “We are incredibly grateful to the staff at Collingwood for dedicating their evening to support Children’s Cancer North. It was a really heartwarming event, seeing families come together to celebrate other volunteers and raise funds for our charity. Special thanks to Liz Laidler and Helen Shields from Collingwood for arranging the night and ensuring everything went smoothly”.
Staff who attended shared that it was an amazing “feel-good” event and “it felt like those who work here feel like they are part of a tight knit family”. One family member said she hadn’t laughed so much in a very long time and was genuinely glad that she came along.
With over 250 calls to make, the event was a huge success – 35% of runners were contacted within the first 2 hours, setting the team up for a really lovely night. The overall reception was overwhelmingly positive, with runners being pleasantly surprised and grateful to receive a thank you message.
Liz Laidler, Head of the Contact Centre at Collingwood, said “We are proud to be a part of such an incredible company, and lucky to have the opportunity to support a charity that does such meaningful work. The Thankathon event was a huge success, and we couldn’t have done it without the selflessness of our wonderful team. We have a real community spirit here at Collingwood, and it is so rewarding to be able to share that with local charities such as Children’s Cancer North”
Collingwood have a longstanding commitment to supporting Children’s Cancer North, following their successful year of fundraising for the charity in 2025. The partnership was so successful that the team voted to continue supporting them in 2026.
Children’s Cancer North is an independent charity with over 40 years of heritage in supporting individuals and families affected by childhood cancer. Newly formed in 2021, from the marriage of North of England Children’s Cancer Research and Children’s Cancer Fund, their charities have collectively raised over £40 million to support children with cancer in the North East and Cumbria since 1979.
Collingwood are proud to contribute to their essential fundraising, helping to support vital services to families affected by cancer.
With more fundraising activities planned for the rest of 2026, Collingwood will continue to support Children’s Cancer North with their mission to raise awareness, invest in research and improve support for families across the North.
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Commonly asked questions about Collingwood’s fundraising initiatives
The Thankathon was a unique event created by Collingwood in partnership with Children’s Cancer North, to call up volunteers who ran the Great North Run to fundraise for CCN. Collingwood colleagues volunteered their Friday evening to call up runners and thank them for their efforts and donations. The event also fundraised by running many activities throughout the night for Collingwood friends and family, such as face painting, tombola’s and more.
Children’s Cancer North are an independent charity with over 40 years of heritage in supporting individuals and families affected by childhood cancer. Newly formed in 2021, from the marriage of North of England Children’s Cancer Research and Children’s Cancer Fund, their charities have collectively raised over £40 million to support children with cancer in the North East and Cumbria since 1979.
Collingwood staff have been involved in many fundraising incentives throughout the year, including Coastal Walks, Three Peaks Challenge and inhouse tombolas, raffles and other incentives, all leading to a collective total of over £6000 raised for Children’s Cancer North, with more activities planned for the rest of the year.
Collingwood have a longstanding commitment to supporting Children’s Cancer North, following their successful year of fundraising for the charity in 2025. The partnership was so successful that the team voted to continue supporting them in 2026 and renominated them as their chosen charity for 2026.
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