Since Ecclesiastical Insurance Group’s Movement for Good awards launched three years ago £3 million has been given to charities across the UK and Ireland. Today the insurer announced it has donated a further £200,000 to five causes across the UK to transform lives. Having received £10,000 last year, five charities were selected by a panel of judges to benefit from an additional £40,000 each.
Among the charities chosen is the Cornwall-based Penhaligon’s Friends, which supports bereaved children, young people and their families. The funding will be used to help the charity grow its team and expand its community support, allowing Penhaligon’s Friends to develop four monthly peer groups in different localities to increase access to support services.
Another selection is the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, which carries out natural flood management work in South Yorkshire. The organisation will use the donation to expand its work to other suitable sites in the Upper River Don catchment area to mitigate flood risk.
Commenting on the news, Mark Hews, group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “At Ecclesiastical we believe business should be a force for good. Charitable causes need sustained support and a sense of financial stability. We received so many strong funding applications from deserving charities we decided to give five fantastic causes £40,000 each. We know that these additional grants can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how these donations will change lives for the better.”
Hews also noted that Ecclesiastical is the fourth-largest corporate donor in the UK and owned by a charity, so all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to its customers. The purpose of the insurer is to contribute to the greater good of society, he said, and charitable giving is at the heart of the business.
In a Press release, Marta Alfaro-Tirado, nature recovery manager (South) at Sheffield Wildlife Trust, said: “Natural flood management is an ecology- and wildlife-friendly way to mitigate the risk of flooding which climate change threatens to make more frequent in future. By installing leaky dams and new ponds, we are storing the water in an area without properties and releasing it slowly, helping reduce the damage caused by flash floods.”
Meanwhile, CEO of Penhaligon’s Friends Julie Parker highlighted that the charity which has been supporting bereaved children for over 26 years is the only service of its kind in Cornwall. The last few years have been incredibly challenging, she said, and the charity has had to adapt to meet local needs.
“Receiving this additional £40,000 will allow us to really invest in providing longer term, appropriate, and meaningful support for bereaved young people throughout Cornwall,” she said. “As a small charity this will allow us to make a big difference.”
