Hospice charity cashes in £2 million donation thanks to fundraising by bank employees

02/12/2011

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:

• On average, £1,429 has been raised every day by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s employees, helping to fund thousands of days of 24 hour nursing care, counselling services and therapies.
• More than £1.2 million has gone directly to supporting local hospices which are matched with their nearest branch, with over £800,000 funding a range of training, education and resources for hospice staff, helping them to provide the very best care to everyone facing the end of life.
• A former Clydesdale Bank Branch in Glasgow has been renovated, extending the city’s Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice to accommodate a children’s bereavement programme.
• Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s employees have donated over 13,000 hours to volunteering initiatives, including work within local hospices such as refurbishments, gardening and mentoring.
• The number of employees signed up to the national Payroll Giving scheme has surged from just 0.5 per cent to 21 per cent since 2006, resulting in over £250,000 being donated to a number of charities.
• Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank fundraising activity has included cycling 8,062 miles, running 81 marathons – the equivalent of 2,106 miles – and climbing a staggering 39 mountains, while colleagues and the Banks have dug deep to show their support.

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.