Konica Minolta cooks for Candlelighters at Leeds City College

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) has helped to raise 6,150 GBP for Candlelighters by competing in a Ready Steady Cook competition organized by the charity at Leeds City College. The money raised will be used by the Yorkshire charity to support families dealing with children's cancer.

The college opened its training kitchens at the Printworks Campus in the city’s Southbank area for the culinary challenge. In total, 12 teams took part in the challenge to cook a main course and dessert, using only surplus ingredients donated by The Company Shop Group, under the watchful eye of the college's tutors.

The Konica Minolta team of channel partner marketing manager Marie Woodhead and executive coordinator Caroline Marson helped raise 6,150 GBP for the charity.

‘The day was a fantastic day and one that raised a lot of money to support the amazing work Candlelighters does for our local community,’ commented Woodhead. ‘It was also a great experience to compete alongside our partners Intuitive Business Intelligence Business who we work so closely with as a business.’

Sue Patterson, a trustee at Candlelighters who organized the event, said: ‘This was the first Candlelighters Ready Steady Cook Challenge, and all the contestants rose to the occasion and produced two delicious plates of food; the energy in the kitchen was awesome. Each team had a student to help them navigate the kitchen, the support from Leeds City College was amazing. A fantastic amount of money was raised, and we hope to build on this for the 2025 Ready Steady Cook event.’

In the run-up to Christmas, the Konica Minolta team across the UK will once again collect and donate toys for children affected by cancer that will be given to children at the Candlelighters Christmas Party.

Members of Konica Minolta will also be volunteering at the party, making sure it’s a memorable celebration for all the incredible kids and their families, an event that previous attendees from Konica Minolta have described as “magical”.

Candlelighters is one of three charities Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) employees have chosen to support as part of the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework. In addition to company-wide fundraising activities, every employee is given one volunteering day each year to support a cause important to them.