John Lewis pledges £125K support to Barnardo’s

DEPARTMENT store group John Lewis has announced a far-reaching partnership with Barnardo’s in Birmingham as it looks forward to the opening of its new shop in the city centre. The partnership will see the retailer provide £125,000 funding, alongside volunteering activity after the store opens.

The funds were raised at a John Lewis golf day at the partnership’s golf course in Cookham, Berkshire. The donations were made by John Lewis suppliers participating in the event.

Barnardo’s is the UK’s leading children’s charity, working with over 200,000 children, young people and their families each year.  Its purpose is to help the UK’s most vulnerable children transform their lives and fulfil their potential.

The money raised will help the charity to specifically reach out and support the most disadvantaged children in the Birmingham area. Last year, Barnardo’s supported 7,016 children in Birmingham and is keen to reach out to the thousands of other children in desperate need of help.

John Lewis’s support will enable Barnardo’s to provide these children with the help that will allow them to turn their lives around and look to their future with a real sense of hope and confidence.

Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis, said: “We look forward to playing an active role in supporting the local Birmingham community alongside Barnardo’s and we are immensely proud to support such worthy causes ahead of our new shop opening.

“Sustainability is embedded across every aspect of John Lewis, not just through our constitution but through our sustainability work – “Bringing Quality to Life”. A key part of this work is making good John Lewis’s long-standing objective to engage with local communities.”

Allan McLaren, deputy director of fundraising at Barnardo’s, said: “We are grateful to John Lewis for the generous donation that will enable us to do so much valuable work in the local community. We look forward to working closely with John Lewis and making a positive difference to vulnerable children’s lives across the city.”

WCCC stumps up cash for Cure Leukaemia

WARWICKSHIRE County Cricket Club has pledged more support to blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia by donating £25,000 to help the organisation fund more specialist nurses.

Edgbaston donated £1.50 from every Adult ticket sold for the NatWest Series One Day International between England and Australia and also renamed its new West Stand as the Cure Leukaemia Stand for the day.

Colin Povey, chief executive of Edgbaston, right, said: “Raising money to help Cure Leukaemia fund more lifesaving treatments is a key part of our plans at Edgbaston and in the last three years alone we’ve donated around £125,000.

“Next year’s One Day International between England and India at Edgbaston will be our Cure Leukaemia Day, where we will again make a substantial contribution from our ticket revenues to help fund more world class treatments and research that will save lives.”

James McLaughlin, chief executive of Cure Leukaemia, left, said: “Edgbaston has been a key partner of ours for several years, and the fundraising through this year’s ODI will fund at least one more specialist nurse that will provide leukaemia patients with access to pioneering treatments that are not normally available through the NHS.”

Tipton & Coseley states goal to help local football club

THE Tipton and Coseley Building Society has boosted a local non-league football club by helping towards its running costs.

The mutual has backed Tipton Town Football Club, which plays in the Baker Joiner Midland Alliance division, by helping towards the running of the first team, ladies team and Youth Academy during the 2013/2014 season.
 
Ian Rowe, manager at Tipton Town FC, said: “Finding financial support is so hard to come by which is why The Tipton’s donation is so gratefully received by everyone at the Club. We have been going strong since 1948 and we hope our supporters and other members of the local community also get behind us to help secure our future for the next 65 years and beyond.”
 
Lee Judson, the Tipton’s general manager sales and marketing, added: “The team has enjoyed a string of successes; players made it to the first round proper of the FA Cup just a couple of years ago. This is a fantastic achievement and we hope our donation will help them come up against teams of this calibre for many more years to come.”
 
Pictured from left are: Ian Rowe, Tipton Town FC’s manager, Lee Judson, general manager sales and marketing at the Tipton and Mat Danks, Tipton Town’s chairman.