As part of our Copart Cares 💙 commitment towards supporting charitable causes, we were delighted to be the headline sponsor of the Make 2nds Count Great Gatsby Gala Ball in Edinburgh last week, which raised over £88,000 for essential research into secondary breast cancer.
Make 2nds Count was founded in 2018 by Lisa Fleming, a secondary breast cancer patient. This UK-wide patient and family focused charity is dedicated to supporting women and men living with secondary breast cancer.
One of the charity’s biggest events is their annual Gala Ball, bringing Scottish businesses and fundraising communities together to raise much needed funds for essential research into incurable secondary breast cancer.
At Copart, we’re passionate about supporting local charities. Not only is it a great way for us to make a difference in the communities close to where we operate but it also enables us to give something back to causes which are important to our teammates due to local connections or something they have been personally affected by.
With this year’s Great Gatsby themed Gala Ball taking place in Edinburgh (close to our U-Pull-It site in Inverkeithing), and the cause being very close to the heart of one of our teammates there, we were delighted to show our support for this worthy cause as the headline sponsor of the event.
Gillian Stewart, Office Manager at UPI Inverkeithing, has been a keen supporter of breast cancer related charities since being diagnosed with breast cancer (which had also spread to her back and liver) in 2020.
Champion cyclist Gillian (who was previously crowned Scottish Master Mountain Bike Champion, British Masters Champion, and World 24-hour Mountain Bike Champion) set up a series of mountain biking fundraiser events last year for breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now.
As part of our sponsorship of the Great Gatsby Gala Ball, Gillian was part of a group of teammates from our U-Pull-It site in Inverkeithing who attended the event with their partners, to enjoy live entertainment and an exciting live auction to raise much needed funds for the charity.
Gillian said:
“This charity is very close to my heart and the work they do is phenomenal. Lisa, the founder was diagnosed the same as me, straight to having secondary breast cancer and decided in her hospital bed that there wasn’t enough awareness of this disease, so that is where Make 2nds Count was born.
“We all had an absolute amazing night, and it was so lovely to lovely to get dressed up and go out for the evening. It was really emotional at times, but it was a fantastic evening and I think we’ll all be talking about it for a very long time!”
Mark Godfrey, Director of Copart Recycling & Automotive, added:
“As part of our Copart Cares CSR commitment, we’re proud to work closely with our teammates, customers, and communities to identify good causes like this, where we can help to make a real difference.
“I’m really pleased that we were able to support an event that personally meant so much to one of our teammates and play a small part in helping to raise an amazing £88,000 ,which will make such a positive difference to the lives of those living with secondary breast cancer.”