Petrofac staff raise more than £47,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Trust

Staff at Petrofac have raised more than £47,000 in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust over the last two years as the oilfield services provider’s charity of the year.

The charity was presented with a cheque during a Christmas Fayre which was Petrofac’s final fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and brought the partnership to an end.

Since early 2012 staff have raised money through a variety of activities including a sponsored abseil, bake-offs, raffles and the proceeds of the tickets from the Petrofac Dinner Dance.

Earlier this year some of the money raised by Petrofac staff was used to purchase the first physiotherapy ‘vest’ to be used in the adult CF unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).

Bill Dunnett, Managing Director, Petrofac Offshore Projects & Operations said: “We are delighted to have achieved such a fantastic final amount for the charity.  It is very much our staff’s charity, chosen by them and so to raise such a considerable amount really is testament to the enthusiasm, drive and generosity of our colleagues during the fundraising.

“This is the first time that we have extended our support to cover two years which has really allowed us to develop a strong relationship with the Trust. We would like to take this opportunity to wish them well with all their future fundraising for what is such a worthy cause.”

June Ross, Cystic Fibrosis Trust Regional Fundraising Manager for Scotland said: “I am delighted to accept this cheque for over £47,000 on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. This amazing sum of money raised by Petrofac employees will help us to continue to fund high quality research into drug resistant bacteria. Infections are one of the leading causes of lung damage and early death in cystic fibrosis, and we rely completely on donations to help us continue our work to find a way to beat cystic fibrosis.

“Thanks to staff at Petrofac we are able to fund more research and support more people with cystic fibrosis.”

Cystic Fibrosis affects about 10,000 children and adults in the UK. It causes the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, to become clogged with thick sticky mucus, resulting in chronic infections and inflammation of the lungs.

Over the past ten years the Cystic Fibrosis Trust has invested more than £30m in gene therapy research which aims to treat CF in the lungs by replacing the faulty copy of the CF gene with a healthy one.  They are now embarking on a five research strategy which aims to recruit the brightest and the best into cystic fibrosis research, funding life changing research and creating strategic research centres.

Petrofac staff are pleased to announce that following a staff survey their charity of the year for 2014/15 will be the Friends of the Special Nursery, the charity of Aberdeen Maternity Hospital’s neo-natal unit for premature and sick babies.