Many employees fundraise and help their local communities in their own time. We
do not have a charity of the year and look for charities that resonate with our
employees and businesses in our major locations around the UK. Around 80% of our
budget is distributed in this way and involves ‘Making a Difference’
Committees in our locations deciding which community projects to support. Here
are some of the highlights from the 560 local charities which
benefited from our work in 2010.
BIRMINGHAM update
FUNDRAISING FOR A GOOD CLAUS
Our Birmingham office once again supported Acorns Children’s Hospice’s
Santa Fun Run, on Saturday 4
December. Legal & General volunteers dressed up as Santa to raise money in a
fun run. The event this year has so far raised over £20,000, money that Acorns
desperately needs to continue its existing service to over 600 local life-limited
children and their families in the Midlands and to help Acorns extend its services
out to hundreds more families.
AN INDIAN FEAST WITH A DIFFERENCE
Dorothy Gaffney hosted a charity Indian meal night for the
Ulster Cancer Foundation and the Children′s Heartbeat Trust, a charity
set up to raise funds for a scanner for the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children
in Belfast.
The event raised £1,590 for the two charities. A further £750 was provided
via Legal & General′s charity matching scheme, meaning that £2,340
was raised as a result of the evening.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
We managed to send off 48 boxes for
Operation Christmas Child, the world′s largest children′s Christmas
project.
We help out with Give and Gain Day
Volunteers from our Birmingham office took part in
Give and Gain Day on 9 July, the UK’s largest day of action for employee
volunteers. We devised an activity that supported the STEM subjects: Science, Technology,
Engineering and Maths. Approximately 90 children from schools in Coventry took part. Groups
of 15 children rotated between the different activities. Our activity was entitled
‘Magic Squares’, based on probabilities and similar to Suduko.
The West Midlands ′Wonderkids′
On Saturday 3 July, volunteers from Legal & General helped out at Drayton Manor
Theme Park to celebrate some of the West Midlands ‘Wonderkids’.
The Birmingham offices have sponsored the Sunday Mercury′s Wonderkids campaign
for several years. This honours young people who have overcome adversity or shown
outstanding bravery.
Cardiff update
BARTLEY JOINS THE BIG BASH
This year Help A South Wales Childs
′Big Bash′ saw 140 children from all over South East Wales enjoying
themselves at Jump in Llanishen. All involved enjoyed the party and were treated
to a special visit from Bartley, Cardiff City Football Club′s mascot, as well
as Father Christmas.
CITY OF VOICES CARDIFF CHOIR
The City Voices Cardiff choir recently raised a total of £1,271, which included
a £500 donation from Legal & General, for the
Touch Trust Charity at their recent concert.
The Touch Trust,
based at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, provides creative touch-based art of
movement and dance programmes for individuals affected by autism and profound and
multiple disabilities.
Cardiff 10k
The sun was shining when two teams from Legal & General recently ran in the
Cardiff 10k to raise money for the Kidney Wales
Foundation.
With Legal & General′s match funding, team members John Redmond, Rebecca
Harrington, Julie Harris, Owen Brotherton, Rebecca Gray, Tom O′Malley, Luthfur
Rahman, Andrew Hamblin, Lucinda Hill and Sarah Stevens between them raised in excess
of £1,000 for the charity.
Amelia Trust Farm
Over the years the Cardiff CSR Committee have developed a close relationship with
the Amelia Trust Farm, having supported
a number of their projects.
One of the most recent projects the team supported was to help build a much needed
shelter for visiting school children and families to eat their lunch when visiting
the farm.
The farm offers a caring environment in which to provide recreational, educational
and training opportunities for all.
Tŷ Hafan′s New Vehicle′s a Triumph!
Legal & General recently contributed towards a much-needed new vehicle to transport
children and their families to and from Tŷ Hafan Hospice. Tŷ Hafan offers comfort,
care and support for life-limited children and young people and is dedicated to
improving the quality of life of their whole family.
http://www.tyhafan.org/
The vehicle has already proved to be a great asset to the hospice and has benefited
many children and their families including Jack.
Hove Update
Helping the next generation prepare for the world of work
Six managers from Legal & General’s Hove office spent a morning with 25
students from local schools and colleges, helping them develop their interview skills
in preparation for the world of work.
The event, which was organised by Education Business
Partnership, began with short talks from Jane Dickinson, Head of IFA Protection
Services at Legal & General, and Paul Bonett, successful local businessman and
chair of Education Business Partnership.
Jane and Paul gave their perspective on working for their respective company’s,
the skills they looked for in an employee, interview hints and tips and the sort
of opportunities available to the right candidates.
The Argus Appeal
Legal & General has been supporting the
Argus Appeal since 2000 and in that time has enabled the Appeal to raise
over £1.5m for local charities, community groups and individuals in need in
Sussex.
More than 200 charities and organisations are helped each year, plus 1,400 pensioners
and low-income families each Christmas. 12 vehicles have been donated to local charities
– including most recently the Alzheimer′s Society in Brighton and the Middle
of the Road Club in Eastbourne.
The Martlets Hospice
Since opening its doors to the first patients in 1997, hospice staff and volunteers
have cared for over 4,000 people from the local community. There are 18 beds and
each year the Hospice cares for around 300 in-patients, another 200 via the Hospice
at Home service and a further 100 as day patients. It also offers support and counselling
to families and carers.
Legal & General have raised a fantastic £62,788.79. We are now fundraising
for in-patient nursing support, which costs £499 a day. A nurse on the in-patient
unit will work with three or four patients for the duration of their stay.
http://www.themartlets.org.uk/
Brighton Festival and Dome
Legal & General are supporters of a Brighton Festival Community Music project,
Music for Life, which is a project pioneering and developing
interactive music workshops for people living with dementia. Work takes place in
residential homes, extra care housing, and specialist day care centres. The project
aims to enhance the quality of life of its participants and demonstrate to carers
the emotional, social and physical potential of people in their care. It focuses
on people who can be isolated and disempowered as a result of the advanced stage
of their dementia. Specially trained musicians work alongside small groups of people
with dementia and their carers during projects – drawing out individuals and enhancing
communication.
Brighton Festival Fringe
Legal & General has supported a bursary scheme for Fringe Festival, so that
12 new artists living within the BN1 postcode can take part. The
Festival Fringe is important to both the people of Brighton and to the local
economy. The bursaries have made it easier for local artists to start up their businesses
in tougher economic times by reducing the financial barriers to taking part in the
Festival. The bursaries have been awarded to three events in each of four Fringe
categories: Comedy, Kids, Literature and Music. Winners range from a free community
event, through site-specific physical theatre pieces to literary evening.
Sussex Crimestoppers
Sussex Crimestoppers is a charity dedicated to fighting crime across Sussex and
Legal & General have been supporting campaigns such as ‘SNAP’ (say
no and phone) and alerting older people in the community to the dangers of ‘
distraction burglaries’ and the latest Fearless campaign in schools. Through
our support they have raised their profile and encouraged more businesses to get
involved in supporting Crimestoppers and fighting crime in the local community.
http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/in-your-area/south-east/sussex/news/sussexs-greatest-to-be-jailed-for-crimestoppers
Albion in the Community
Following on from our sponsorship of the Family Stand at Withdean, we are now working
with Albion in the Community and are a Premier Division Community Partner of AITC,
supporting a pilot project for an education programme. The pilot will involve a
local school and local junior football team and will offer family learning with the
theme of ‘developing young people’.
http://www.seagulls.co.uk/staticFiles/42/34/0,,10433~144450,00.pdf
Kingswood update
FUNDRAISING FOR THE CHILDREN′S TRUST
Legal & General Kingswood employees raised £746 (including Legal &
General matching) for the Children′s Trust on 28 January by selling unwanted
Christmas presents. They also provided them with ten crates of quality items to sell
in their charity shops.
The Children′s Trust in Tadworth is the UK’s leading centre providing
care, therapy and education for over 250 children from all over the UK with multiple
disabilities and complex health needs. Legal & General has supported the Children′s
Trust for many years.
http://www.bitc.org.uk/south_east/case_studies/lg_tct.html
DONATE A SUIT DAY
Our Kingswood office donated items of business clothing on ‘Donate a Suit
Day’ in aid of the Queen Elizabeth Foundation
(QEF). On Wednesday 30 June 2010, 22 willing volunteers of the Bank and Building
Society Distribution Division, helped out at the Queen
Elizabeth Foundation (QEF) in Leatherhead.
The team completed the refurbishment of a main student and visitor car park area,
leaving it with a new gleaming white fence and window frames on the near by living
quarters. A number of the team also completed presentations on various aspects of
Legal & General, including ‘Working in an Office’.
Reigate and Redhill Choral Society
Through its Community Development Programme
Reigate & Redhill Choral Society (RRCS), supported by Legal & General,
is reaching out to young people who otherwise would have little or no exposure to
classical music – and is making a real difference.
During the last year alone, over 500 local schoolchildren have been involved –
and better still, quite a few have even joined the Choral Society as a direct result
of their involvement in the Community Development Programme. The Society now has
a number of sixth formers in its membership – and fully expects to see that
number grow
St Raphael’s Hospice
Employees at Kingswood support a number of local charities including
St Raphael’s Hospice in North Cheam. St Raphael’s provides day
care, respite and palliative care to patients with life threatening illnesses in
the boroughs of Merton and Sutton. Their skilled staff of nurses and carers treat
each patient as an individual, and do everything they can to ease their pain in
comfort and dignity. Other services available at the Hospice help relatives of patients
to cope at this difficult time.
Over the last ten years, Kingswood employees have raised a fantastic total of more
than £26,000 for the hospice through dress down days and various fundraising
activities including employee matching. This is enough money to pay for one palliative
care nurse for an entire year.
Heart Radio (Sussex and Surrey) Local Heroes Awards
Legal & General supports the Heart (formerly Mercury)
‘Local Heroes Awards’ as part of our Community Involvement Programme
at Kingswood. A month long campaign runs in local media to identify those ‘unsung
heroes’. Categories include Best Neighbours, Volunteer of the
Year, Young Person of the Year – and many more. Every person nominated is
an outstanding local individual or an organisation that has made a real difference
to his or her local community.
Ipswich Update
Ipswich′s White Ribbon fashion show took place on Thursday 28 November at
Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre, Ipswich. 200 tickets were sold and £2,000 was
raised, to increase awareness about domestic violence on White Ribbon Day.
GREAT XSCAPE
On 20 March we had two very brave teams from the Ipswich office take part in the
Great Xscape. The teams were blindfolded and left four miles away from the
Button Oyster in Pin Mill with no money or maps, their mobile phones were taken
away from them and they were given a mobile phone with no credit, and they had to
find their way back!!
Sonia Jennings raises over £5,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Sonia Jennings, Household Claims Handler, in our Ipswich office organised a horse
racing evening on Saturday 10 July for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
As part of the event, she ran an auction with great prizes, including two tickets
for Top Gear, an Audi TT for a day and tickets to a Manchester United football match.
Community Day
On Thursday 12 November, the Ipswich CSR Committee hosted a ‘Learning &
Growth Day’, where 27 local charities and community groups attended to raise
employees’ awareness of what kind of work they do in the local community and
to identify opportunities to support local communities and charities.
London update
Rock the night for Royal Marsden
On 14 October 2010 our own LGIM Rock Band performed to raise money for the
Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign in memory of our colleague Julian Turner.
The event raised £1,770 including sponsorship matching for the Bud Flanagan
Ward.
The Kids Cookery School
Louise Tufnell ran the Edinburgh Marathon on 23 May to raise funds for
the Kids Cookery School. Louise
volunteers her own time and has become a trustee and help raise the awareness of
this amazing charity. Her efforts raised over £4,000 for the charity, which
makes a huge difference to them, and means that more than 50 children will benefit
from the Kids Cookery School
on wheels session.