How TC Group’s Jake Burton raised thousands to help fight dementia

After his grandad died, TC Group Digital Development Manager and keen cricketer, Jake Burton, thought a good way to honour him would be to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Five years on, he’s raised £67,000 and counting.

TURNING GRIEF INTO ACTION

“My Grandad Trevor and I shared a love of cricket. He played, my dad played, it was in the family, and inevitable I guess that my sister and I would play too. When he died towards the end of 2020, Covid restrictions meant there was no real way to celebrate Grandad’s life, but I wanted to remember him somehow. My fondest memories of him are associated with cricket and, as he lived with dementia for the last years of his life, it made sense to bring the two together. Runs4Research was born.”

SMALL IDEA, BIG IMPACT

The idea was simple – players signed up and committed to a donation of 5p to Alzheimer’s Research UK for every run scored and 50p for every wicket taken during the 2021 season. Any level, any game, anywhere. At the end of the season, the total would be tallied up and, for example, 200 runs would result in a £10 donation (paid through JustGiving).

“I thought I might raise a couple of hundred quid through friends and family but, thanks to the support of my Long Sutton Club teammates and the reach of social media, 250 people signed up from all around the UK and Runs4Research raised £5,000 that season.”

LOCAL COMMUNITY, NATIONAL REACH

In the second year, registrations and donations doubled, and they’ve remained at the same level every year since.  What started as a small idea, looks like it will raise £75,000 by the end of this 2026 season.

“I really had no idea it would take off, it’s beyond my wildest dreams,” says Jake. “But I haven’t done this alone. It’s thanks to the generosity of hundreds of cricket-loving strangers whose families have probably also been devastated by the effects of dementia. The nationwide cricket community really is amazing.”

TC GROUP SUPPORT

Jake’s also grateful for the ongoing support from TC Group. Every cricketer who signs up gets a Runs4Research sticker to display on their bat. TC Group Holbeach covers all the postage costs, which has grown substantially over the years and would otherwise be prohibitive. The stickers are also generously donated by Vyper Cricket.

TECHNOLOGY, SPORT AND FUNDRAISING COMBINE

In the early stages, it was easy for Jake to keep track of statistics and donations on a spreadsheet, but as numbers increased this became more time consuming. His interest in digital development led to a conversation with a robotic process automation (RPA) company called Bots For That who designed an automated process to extract weekly data from scorecards nationwide. The successful venture led to a long-term business collaboration. Now, TC Group partners with Bots For That on a variety of projects across a much wider scale.

A LASTING LEGACY

Fundraising for Alzheimer’s Research UK has opened up opportunities Jake would never have experienced otherwise, “I’ve been to a reception at 10 Downing Street, appeared on the radio and received local fundraising awards. It baffles me,” he says.

“Runs4Research is a passion project, and it continues to motivate me to do more. We didn’t get a chance to properly celebrate Grandad’s life, so this is my way to honour him.”

 

Find out more or sign up to Runs4Research to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.