A partnership between one of Britain’s high street banks and Help the Hospices, the charity for hospice care, has raised £2 million – which is enough to fund nearly 100,000 hours of nursing care in patients’ own homes.
Help the Hospices has been the official charity partner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks for four years, and this week the bank has reached the £2 million milestone thanks to employee fundraising.
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks launched the partnership in 2008, twinning each branch with its local hospice. The partnership has directly helped more than 116 hospices to deliver care and support free of charge to seriously ill people and their families, as well as enabling Help the Hospices to support quality care and good practice in hospices across the UK. The bank’s Charitable Foundation has matched all money raised by employees, pound for pound and helped facilitate a series of employee initiatives through volunteering and in-kind support to add further value to the partnership.
Throughout the four year partnership:
David Praill, chief executive of Help the Hospices, said: “Most hospices are local charities rooted in the communities they serve, and provide their services free of charge – but hospice care is not free to provide. Our partnership with Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks adds to the precious funds that allow hospices to care for 360,000 people every year, including seriously ill adults and children and their families.
“We have been blown away by the support and enthusiasm of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s employees over the past four years. All the money they raise locally makes a difference to people in need of hospice care in their own community. Every employee that has been involved deserves a special thanks.”
Jacqui Atkinson, community affairs manager at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank said: “We are delighted to reach the milestone £2million, which not only exceeded our expectations but was reached months ahead of target.
“We are very proud to be partners with Help the Hospices and this is a wonderful example of how an organisation can make a real difference by ensuring that a charity partnership is integrated into its community investment initiatives. Not only have employees pulled out all the stops to raise this incredible amount, but they regularly share their time and expertise with their local hospice.”
Whilst hundreds of employees have arranged cake sales, raffles, karaoke contests and It’s a Knock Out events, many of the bank’s more daring employees have undertaken extreme sporting challenges ranging from sky dives to Machu Picchu treks to offer their support to Help the Hospices.
You can find impartial information and guidance on money matters on the “Money advice service” website.
Clydesdale Bank is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), Find out more.