Tikiboo x MDUK New Partnership
•Posted on January 25 2022
Guest Blogger Martin Hywood from MDUK
Synergy Leads to Success
I’ve said many times before how I’m not an educated writer, creative writing is something I started doing in my mid-40s, luckily though, I am surrounded by talented people that write far better than I ever could and one of those people is Ruth Martin who is now my colleague. Ruth talks about the importance of collaboration and synergy in life, and in my position at Muscular Dystrophy UK (MD UK) this is proving to be a key to success.
There’s always been a theme in my fundraising, whether that be from a personal perspective or a professional one: we need to have a shared purpose that we like to work with. Hywoods Heroes (our family fund) was born out of selflessness, and family and friends around me wanting to help others, and now in my job I get to encourage others to get involved with our charity. And that’s what I’ve been doing, constantly looking for that shared purpose and synergy. I’m so excited to share with you the wonderful, exciting opportunity that comes to life today.
It started with a message I sent last August to Faye Jobbins; Co owner / Sales and Marketing Director of Tikiboo. Tikiboo is a multi-award-winning brand, providing bright, colourful activewear and clothing products allowing people to stand out from the crowd while wearing something that can become an instant talking point to those around them. The message said “Hi Faye, could we meet for a coffee and a chat? I love your clothing collections and would like to talk about going bright because all of our muscles matter”
The very next day, Faye replied with a “Yes, of course” and we got on like a house on fire. We started to talk about the importance of our muscles and how all our muscles matter, whether you’re a qualified physical trainer, like Faye, or living with a muscle-wasting condition, transitioning from ambulant to wheelchair, like myself.
Those conversations turned into Tikiboo inviting Muscular Dystrophy UK to be their Charity of the Year for 2022. What that means, is that Tikiboo has now produced a bright, ‘Muscles Matter’ collection of activewear for sale, and 20% of the RRP going to MD UK. They will also donate 10% of RRP from their Neon collection to us.
This fantastic partnership between Tikiboo and MD UK will fund world-class research and help us to continue supporting people living with muscle-wasting conditions. I was blown away by Faye’s enthusiasm and generosity to help others like myself, I can’t believe how often this happens considering we are still in the midst of a global pandemic at a time where people around me are saying that my job must be difficult at the minute as businesses keep their assets and any spare change close to their chests. The fact of the matter is that it’s quite the opposite to that, people, especially businesses have become more receptive to charity and with that comes hope out of what has been an awful time for so many people. I myself was shielding for 18 months which didn’t help me at all. Some might say that they love to sit around all day doing nothing, for me this is a curse, if I don’t use my muscles, I lose my muscles.
Now more than ever we need to appreciate these beacons of positivity, read the good stories, be grateful for the likes of the late Captain Tom Moore and ‘Speedo’ Mick who just doesn’t stop walking around the UK in his undergarments for various charities. I believe if I try my best to meet with people like Faye and others that are willing to help then I’ll just keep smiling and stay positive in the face of adversity because if I stay this way, I know I’ll see opportunities in my life rather than obstacles.
I cannot thank Tikiboo enough and I know all of my colleagues at MDUK feel the same way. I’m so excited for the year ahead as we go hand-in-hand into 2022, proving that synergy leads to success, and to spread the message that Muscles Matter, to all of us.
Synergy Leads to Success
I’ve said many times before how I’m not an educated writer, creative writing is something I started doing in my mid-40s, luckily though, I am surrounded by talented people that write far better than I ever could and one of those people is Ruth Martin who is now my colleague. Ruth talks about the importance of collaboration and synergy in life, and in my position at Muscular Dystrophy UK (MD UK) this is proving to be a key to success.
There’s always been a theme in my fundraising, whether that be from a personal perspective or a professional one: we need to have a shared purpose that we like to work with. Hywoods Heroes (our family fund) was born out of selflessness, and family and friends around me wanting to help others, and now in my job I get to encourage others to get involved with our charity. And that’s what I’ve been doing, constantly looking for that shared purpose and synergy. I’m so excited to share with you the wonderful, exciting opportunity that comes to life today.
It started with a message I sent last August to Faye Jobbins; Co owner / Sales and Marketing Director of Tikiboo. Tikiboo is a multi-award-winning brand, providing bright, colourful activewear and clothing products allowing people to stand out from the crowd while wearing something that can become an instant talking point to those around them. The message said “Hi Faye, could we meet for a coffee and a chat? I love your clothing collections and would like to talk about going bright because all of our muscles matter”
The very next day, Faye replied with a “Yes, of course” and we got on like a house on fire. We started to talk about the importance of our muscles and how all our muscles matter, whether you’re a qualified physical trainer, like Faye, or living with a muscle-wasting condition, transitioning from ambulant to wheelchair, like myself.
Those conversations turned into Tikiboo inviting Muscular Dystrophy UK to be their Charity of the Year for 2022. What that means, is that Tikiboo has now produced a bright, ‘Muscles Matter’ collection of activewear for sale, and 20% of the RRP going to MD UK. They will also donate 10% of RRP from their Neon collection to us.
This fantastic partnership between Tikiboo and MD UK will fund world-class research and help us to continue supporting people living with muscle-wasting conditions. I was blown away by Faye’s enthusiasm and generosity to help others like myself, I can’t believe how often this happens considering we are still in the midst of a global pandemic at a time where people around me are saying that my job must be difficult at the minute as businesses keep their assets and any spare change close to their chests. The fact of the matter is that it’s quite the opposite to that, people, especially businesses have become more receptive to charity and with that comes hope out of what has been an awful time for so many people. I myself was shielding for 18 months which didn’t help me at all. Some might say that they love to sit around all day doing nothing, for me this is a curse, if I don’t use my muscles, I lose my muscles.
Now more than ever we need to appreciate these beacons of positivity, read the good stories, be grateful for the likes of the late Captain Tom Moore and ‘Speedo’ Mick who just doesn’t stop walking around the UK in his undergarments for various charities. I believe if I try my best to meet with people like Faye and others that are willing to help then I’ll just keep smiling and stay positive in the face of adversity because if I stay this way, I know I’ll see opportunities in my life rather than obstacles.
I cannot thank Tikiboo enough and I know all of my colleagues at MDUK feel the same way. I’m so excited for the year ahead as we go hand-in-hand into 2022, proving that synergy leads to success, and to spread the message that Muscles Matter, to all of us.
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