George Green chooses its charity of the year

BLACK Country law firm George Green has announced that Midlands Air Ambulance will be its charity of the year.

The charity needs £6m a year to operate and its funding is solely from the public and local businesses.

The Midlands Air Ambulance is responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. This constitutes the largest air ambulance operating region in the UK.

Since 1991, the charity has responded to more than 37,000 missions averaging 3,000 per year or nearly ten each day.

Tim Lang, partner and head of George Green’s employment team, said: “I’m really pleased that the staff chose to support the Midlands Air Ambulance for the coming 12 months. They do an essential job and save many lives across the region. Many people think they receive government or lottery funding. They don’t and they need every penny of help they can get.”

Sofia Voutianitis, fund raising manager for Midlands Air Ambulance said: “In the current climate, fund raising has become difficult, so I was delighted to hear that the staff at George Green had voted to support and help us. We’re all looking forward to working with them in as many ways as possible.”

Bruton Knowles raises cash through balloon race

THE Birmingham office of property consultancy Bruton Knowles has raised more than £500 for charity with a sponsored balloon race.

Staff from the firm, along with members of Harborne Parish Lands Charity (HPLC), released more than 100 red helium balloons into the sky.

The money was raised through sponsorship of the balloons, with each balloon costing £5. The balloons are tagged with sponsor details and the one that travels the furthest wins, with the winner receiving a hamper.

The money will be donated to HPLC to support the work it does in providing social housing for the elderly, vulnerable people and those with restricted mobility, and giving grants to those in need and organisations that help care for people in the community.

David Walton, an associate at Bruton Knowles in Birmingham, organised the balloon race. He said: “Bruton Knowles celebrated its 150th anniversary last year and we wanted to do something locally to commemorate the milestone while raising money for charity at the same time.”

Alumet makes donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation

WARWICKSHIRE construction firm Alumet has donated more than £2,500 to the charity Make-A-Wish Foundation.

It raised money by holding various charity events including pub quizzes, tombola, raffles, book sales, cake sales as well as through corporate donations.

Make-A-Wish Foundation aims to grant magical wishes to children and young people aged three-17 fighting life-threatening conditions. The charity has granted more than 8,400 wishes but needs to raise £7m every year to continue to do so.

Make-A-Wish’s corporate account manager Angela Banfield said: “It is great that Alumet have raised this amount throughout the year. Their generosity will help us to continue granting the wishes of very special children.”

Alumet’s finance director Damien Bradley said: “At Alumet we take our commitment to the region very seriously. Make-A-Wish Foundation provides a very special service to the youth of today and we are proud to support them in any way we can.”