Choice Housing have donated £12,000 to four charities. Action Cancer, Alzheimer’s Society, ‘Staff a Bus NI’ and the Trussell Trust have each received an equal share of the charitable contribution.
As a result of the restrictions in place due to Covid-19, almost all of the community and corporate events held annually by Choice were cancelled last year. Towards the end of 2020 the Senior Management team took the opportunity to invest the funds into the community through these four local charities.
Action Cancer and the Alzheimer’s Society are this year’s focus for staff fundraising activity. Choice staff have managed an internal fundraising committee for many years and it has successfully raised a substantial amount of money for many worthy causes over the years. Obviously their efforts have been badly affected by Covid-19 and staff are delighted that these charities are benefiting through these donations.
‘Stuff a bus NI’ was the staff committee’s preferred partner for its Christmas donation. The charity purchased toys for disadvantaged kids across Northern Ireland and delivered these gifts safely before Christmas Eve in a joint venture between St Vincent De Paul and The Salvation Army (supported by Translink and U105). SMT were delighted to be able to supplement the monies donated by staff.
The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that supports a network of independent food banks across the UK. It is committed to ending the need for food banks by addressing the key drivers for their use, through partnerships with other organisations such as Advice NI and by campaigning for changes to the benefit system. In Northern Ireland there are 22 food banks in the Trussell Trust network, operating across 39 separate locations. The donation from Choice will be ringfenced to support NI locations and will fund emergency food parcels and support services.
Michael McDonnell, Group Chief Executive of Choice Housing said: “These are challenging times for everyone and Choice hopes that the £12,000 donation will go some way in supporting these great charities in the year ahead.”
