Charity: Persimmon Charity Champions pot hits £1m; Walker Morris calendar competition winners announced; and more

A COMMUNITY grant scheme by Persimmon Homes has now donated more than £1m to good causes.
 
The housebuilder launched Community Champions in the spring of 2015. The programme gives grants of up to £1,000 each to good causes, local charities and groups.
 
Since launch, Persimmon has supported 1,142 local causes stretching from Aberdeen to Truro. Every one of Persimmon’s 28 regions plus head office in York chooses two charities every month for a donation of up to £1,000. More than £50,000 is donated monthly.
 
The programme has supported a diverse range of groups and charities in the region, including £1,000 donations for both the British Red Cross and the Prince of Wales Hospice.
 
Persimmon’s group CEO Jeff Fairburn said: “Our programme supports grass roots community causes in England, Wales and Scotland. To reach £1m is a fantastic achievement and I’m pleased we have supported such worthy causes and vital local services which made a real difference in their communities.
 
“Our donations do not stop here. The programme continues into 2017 and we’re very much looking forward to supporting even more great causes in the months ahead.”
 
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Walker Morris Calendar competitionCHILDREN from Yorkshire’s primary schools have been awarded prizes for their artistic talents in the 22nd Walker Morris Children’s Calendar Competition.

The winners of the Walker Morris Charity Calendar Competition, which is held in aid of Martin House Hospice, have been announced at a special presentation ceremony. The winners and runners-up were presented with their prizes at the Walker Morris offices.

Renowned Yorkshire artist Ashley Jackson and Walker Morris’ chairman of the partners, David Smedley, who were both judges, presented the children with their prizes. The 13 talented winners, one for each month of the year plus the coveted front page, were all presented with a hamper full of artists’ materials and a cheque for their school for £250. In addition, the 28 runners-up also received a prize.

Mr Smedley said: “As always, we are absolutely astounded by the level of talent in the region. The quality and the creativity of the artwork is a credit to the children, their teachers and the schools. As a firm we are extremely proud of the calendar and the money it raises in support of Martin House and we hope it brings a smile to everyone’s faces for 2017.”

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BRADFORD-based Sovereign Health Care’s charitable trust has donated over £500,000 to 166 worthy causes in 2016 across West Yorkshire and beyond.

The trust has been supporting good causes for many years, and in the past eight years alone, it has donated in excess of £6.5m to support charities and projects which benefit communities around Bradford and West Yorkshire. Sovereign places particular emphasis on supporting organisations that help improve health and wellbeing and encourage people to live healthy lifestyles.

Jan Fortune, co-ordinator for Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust, said: “We are very proud to have been able to support so many local charities and good causes in the West Yorkshire area, which impact on the lives of local people.

“For example, we have contributed over £70,000 to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance over the past seven years, and the Bradford Royal Infirmary was able to use Sovereign’s £500,000 grant to open the Sovereign Lecture Theatre in 2009. In 2012 we part funded the ‘da Vinci’ surgical system, a less invasive and more effective surgery for prostate cancer patients, at Bradford Royal Infirmary with a £200,000 grant.”

As well as these large grants Sovereign also supports a wide range of smaller organisations.

To celebrate its 140th anniversary Sovereign launched the Good All Round initiative in 2013, which, with the help of a public vote, gave 14 local groups a share of £140,000. More recently, the charitable trust contributed £2,745 to Group B Strep Support’s campaign to raise awareness of the risks of the condition to unborn babies.

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IN the run up to one of the busiest times of the year for food producers, retailers and charities, ReFood, the food waste recycler, has launched a campaign to reduce business food waste and donate money to homeless charities.
 
The business, which has a number of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants throughout the UK and is headquartered in Doncaster and turns waste food into renewable energy and bio-fertiliser, contributed £4,000 to charities, and diverted an additional 192tonnes of waste food away from landfill during a similar campaign last year. This year’s project will see donations made to homeless charities for every new bin collection signed up during November, December and January.
 
The charities involved in the initiative all work with homeless, vulnerable people, an issue that comes into particular focus around Christmas. Leeds-based St George’s Crypt; Manchester charity Barnabus; independent, Liverpool-based charity The Whitechapel Centre; SHP in Dagenham; and Sheffield’s Sunday Centre, will all receive financial support from the campaign.
 
Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood, said: “This campaign highlights two important issues over the festive period: homelessness and wastefulness. We were delighted that last year’s campaign could support the vital work these charities do, whilst promoting an important message about diverting waste food from landfill. With the 2016 festive period just around the corner, we’re confident that this year’s campaign will be a similar success. We’d encourage all businesses involved in the food supply chain to think about their waste strategy, and recycle any waste food, and this campaign serves to highlight that.”
 
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A NEW drop-in service offering residents the opportunity to donate gifts to the homeless this Christmas has opened at Leeds Civic Hall.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the antechamber (courtyard entrance) area of the civic hall during normal working hours. All of the gifts donated will be given to St George’s Crypt, which provides a range of support and accommodation to the homeless.

Example of gifts that could be provided includes:
● Non-perishable food – Coffee, sugar, tinned meat, tuna, tinned tomatoes, cereals, rice, self-raising flour and cooking oil.
● Toiletries – Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower gel (not soap), spray deodorant.
Household – Toilet rolls, soap powder (not liquid).
● Gifts – Small items that can be given out as Christmas or birthday present like: – puzzle books/adult colouring books, toiletry sets, new socks, new boxer shorts (medium size) and chocolates.

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Skipton Building SocietyWORKERS at Skipton Building Society’s head office and at the local Skipton branch are spreading festive cheer this year by donating goods to the local food bank and are acting as a collection point.

The Skipton community is being invited to donate Christmas essentials that will ultimately be given to families that work hard throughout the year, yet despite their best efforts they are still unable to enjoy a season as luxurious as Christmas. The donations may include stuffing mix, gravy granules, cranberry sauce, brandy sauce, tinned gammon, Christmas pudding, boxes of chocolates and biscuits, hot chocolate and mince pies.

The Skipton Food Bank is a charity run by the Skipton Baptist Church which is now being supported by Craven District Council. The food provided is entirely through donations from the community and is then presented to the families in need, in the form of hampers, through local agencies.

Kris Brewster, Skipton’s head of products, said: “We are proud to support the Skipton Food Bank as the local charity supports the families in the community that need it the most. It’s amazing to see our colleagues at Skipton actively supporting such a wonderful cause.”

If you’d like to donate to the Skipton Food Bank, the community is welcome to deliver any goods to the Skipton Building Society Head Office at the Bailey or to the Skipton Branch on the High Street.

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