George Green helps to stock up local food bank

BLACK Country law firm George Green has given generously to local food bank Community Link this Christmas.

The Cradley Heath Community Link food bank is a community group located on the High Street in Cradley Heath which is ran by volunteers alongside St. Johns Church in Dudley Wood.

Over the past few weeks, George Green staff members have been donating selection boxes, mince pies, Christmas puddings and much more into hampers ready to donate to the food bank.

George Green also held a Christmas Jumper Day where the proceeds were also being donated to the food bank.

David Stevenson, chief executive at George Green said: “It has always been important to George Green to support the local community. The staff at the firm are keen to help good causes and this local project here has certainly resonated with them.”

Birmingham businesses Give big For kids this Christmas

SOME 14 Birmingham businesses took part in Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s Big Give Challenge this Christmas enabling hundreds of local disadvantaged children to enjoy a trip to the theatre during the festive season.
 
The Big Give Christmas Challenge is a national annual fundraising event which offers donors the chance to double the value of their gifts through a two day donation challenge.  This December, together with matched giving from the Big Give, generous Birmingham businesses donated more than £13,000 towards The REP’s education and community work.
 
The businesses that took on the challenge were: Barclays, Binding Site, Ellisons, Grosvenor Casinos, Jaguar Land Rover, JLT, Just Good Food, Lloyds, Pertemps, Pinsent Masons, Revolver Coop, RBS, SGH Martineau and Wragges.

Between them they raised £13,386 and as a result more than 260 local school children got to see a performance of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The REP with some enjoying a special ‘relaxed performance’ specifically tailored for children with severe learning difficulties.
 
Rachel Cranny, business development officer at The REP said: “The response from the Birmingham business community to our Big Give Christmas appeal has been fantastic and we are delighted to be able to offer this magical experience to children who would otherwise miss out this Christmas.”

Close-knit team at JW Hinks enjoy festive jumper fun

STAFF at Birmingham accountants JW Hinks have taken part in festive fashion fun to raise money for their chosen charity St Basils.
 
The team at the Edgbaston-based firm all donned Christmas jumpers and paid a small donation to the charity, which helps young homeless people in the West Midlands.
 
As the firm’s charity of the year, JW Hinks has participated in a number of events to raise money for St Basils, which have included the Great Birmingham Run and a Halloween bake-off held at their office that was judged by the firm’s partners and raised around £150.
 
Neal Aston, managing partner at JW Hinks, said: “Everyone really got into the Christmas spirit for our jumper day and there were a number of interesting designs on display throughout the day, we were very impressed.
 
“The whole day really brought some Christmas cheer to our office and the donations will go a long way to helping our chosen charity St Basils, who will really benefit from the money we raised at this time of year.”

Eze Wish winner scores boardroom lunch with Blues director Panos 

LIFELONG Birmingham City supporter Paul Gallon was thrilled when he was chosen to get up close and personal with club director Panos Pavlakis.
 
Through Eze Group’s Eze Wishes initiative, Paul’s son, Andrew Gallon, nominated his father to win a boardroom experience with Panos so he could ‘personally thank him for his contribution to turning around the club’s fortunes’.
 
During the club’s recent match against Huddersfield, Panos and Eze Group CEO Dominic O’Reilly joined Paul and Andrew for a festive lunch in The Boardroom Club at St. Andrew’s.
 
Andrew said: “What a fantastic day. We were warmly welcomed by Panos, Dominic and the rest of the team, who spent time talking to us about the history of the club.

“I nominated my dad to win this experience as not only is he a committed, loyal and dedicated Blues fan, but he has suffered from MS for many years, and has continued working to support his family up until retirement. He is a real inspiration.”
 
Eze Group – the club’s principle partner and main shirt sponsor for the 2015/16 season – is continuing its Eze Wishes campaign throughout the season to recognise and reward fans who have shown tremendous courage in the face of adversity, carried out selfless community work or demonstrated great loyalty to Blues.

Baker Goodchild supports the Birmingham Christmas Shelter

BIRMINGHAM-based direct mail fulfilment and print management services provider Baker Goodchild pledged its support to seasonal homeless shelter charity The Birmingham Christmas Shelter.

The direct mail fulfilment company is a long standing supporter of many worthwhile charities but this year it decided that instead of sending out hampers and advent calendars to customers and suppliers, it will instead use the money that it would normally spend on those items to make a donation to The Birmingham Christmas Shelter.

Managing director, Lorraine Burnell said: “The reason we have chosen this specific charity is because the well-known ones are already getting a lot of support.

“The whole Baker Goodchild team support the initiative and many have volunteered to help during the busy days.” 

The Birmingham Christmas Shelter is a registered charity that is run entirely by volunteers. Its aim is to provide food, warmth, shelter and friendship to the homeless and lonely of Birmingham during the Christmas period.