Corporate supporters help fund lifesaving missions

It’s been a challenging time for every type of business, not least the charity sector. For us to survive it has called for creativity and diversification in our income streams. Our loyal donors have undoubtedly helped the charity continue to provide its lifesaving services over the past two years.

At a time when community events and volunteering had to cease due to Covid restrictions, companies were supporting our pleas for help by donating gifts in kind, services and expertise. This vital support helps to save us money we would otherwise need to spend, and this is an area we would like to explore further.

Expertise from law firms has been especially beneficial through Pro Bono schemes with Dentons and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher UK LLP advising on a range of legal matters. Large quantities of furniture from DLA Piper Ltd enabled our cafes to refresh their look ready for their post-pandemic reopening, each with its unique look, but all serving great coffee and delicious cakes!

When Eliga Services contacted us about doing some fundraising, we recognised their time and talents would be invaluable in accelerating our goals for digital transformation – answering all our prayers at a time when we were desperately seeking solutions for digital fundraising.

Our critical care cars need an all-year-round supply of specialist tyres due to the nature of their work, and it has been enormously beneficial to have the generous support, over many years, from Hankook Tire and Technology co. This is worth around £5,000 per year and would take a long time to raise that money in the community – this represents another vital cost saving to the charity.

In total, these gifts of goods and services from the companies mentioned and many more saved the charity almost £250,000 in 2021 and more importantly will contribute massively towards the future sustainability of the charity. As we look forward to events this year, we are delighted to welcome support from Chatsworth House and Silverstone, both donating their venues to host two of our Open Day events.

We warmly welcome support from companies and organisations that will enhance all areas of our diverse organisation, be that stock for us to sell in our stores, expertise and services, or goods we can auction and raffle off to raise funds. We would love to hear from any company that feels that they would like to support us in this way.

If you’d like to support us, please email our National Partnerships Manager, Jo Payne by emailing [email protected]