Staff from the region’s largest building society have voted to adopt one of the region’s best-known charities as their dedicated fundraising cause.
Having brought in over £14,000 for last year’s chosen good cause, The Alzheimer’s Society, employees at Newcastle Building Society’s head offices and branches are now raising money for The Percy Hedley Foundation, which provides a range of services for disabled people and their families across the region.
And initial fundraising work has already brought in over £6,000 for the Newcastle-based charity.
The relationship with Percy Hedley will last for at least the next two years, with fundraising by individual NBS staff, teams and departments being undertaken through a variety of methods, from cake sales and dress down days through sponsored walks, family events and staff participation in the Great North Run.
Founded in 1953, The Percy Hedley Foundation works to help meet the needs of disabled people with cerebral palsy, communication impairments, sensory impairments and complex learning, social care and therapeutic needs.
It provides a wide range of high quality, specialist and personalised support to over 1,000 families each year, ranging from education services at Percy Hedley Lower and Upper School, the Northern Counties School and Percy Hedley College through to residential services, adult day care services, and a very successful Employability Project.
The Foundation’s Sports Academy also offers a very wide range of disability sports catering for all ages, and its facilities are used by both local disabled groups and for regional and national events.
Carole Harder, chief executive at The Percy Hedley Foundation, adds: “We are delighted to be adopted as Newcastle Building Society’s charity. All the money raised will go directly to benefit the people that access our services and will make such a difference.”
The Newcastle’s staff have adopted a different charity for each of the last six years, raising more than £115,000 for them in total.
Previous dedicated charities included the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre at the Freeman Hospital, the Great North Air Ambulance Service, North East children’s burn injury charity The Grafters’ Club, Macmillan Cancer Support and Help for Heroes.
In addition to this, more than a million ppounds has been raised for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation through two successful NBS products which bear Sir Bobby’s name, and Society branches also choose to support specific good causes in their local areas as part of the Newcastle’s wider ‘Cornerstone of the Community’ campaign.
Natalie Falkous, head of corporate social responsibility at Newcastle Building Society, says: “Our staff have always dedicated a fantastic amount of energy and enthusiasm to their chosen fundraising causes and there is already a lot planned in the pipeline to help raise as much money as possible for The Percy Hedley Foundation.
“Giving something back to the communities in which we’re based, both through this sort of fundraising work and the support our branches give to their respective local good causes, is absolutely central to our position as a local mutual organisation.”
For further information on the work of The Percy Hedley Foundation, please visit http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/