Bank staff cash in for charity

Employees at HSBC’S contact centre in Hamilton have raised an astonishing £66,000 – two thirds of a £100,000 fundraising target for 2017 – for charity.

Recipients of the cash include the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and the bank’s national charity partner, Alzheimer Scotland.

The Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity has already been able to put funds towards the purchase of a ‘Kitten MRI Scanner’ for its Teddy Hospital service, which helps children to better understand what to expect during CT or MRI procedures.

Funds have been raised through a variety of staff initiatives, including bakes sales and team sporting events, such as the Glasgow Kiltwalk which saw over 50 members walk up to 23 miles from Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Over £11,000 was raised via this event alone.

Almost 100 members of staff have also taken part in volunteering days to help the community, such as decorating Glasgow Children’s Hospital at Christmas, undertaking gardening projects at Alzheimer Scotland’s day centres, volunteering at the local zoo and in charity shops and getting local school gardens summerready.

HSBC Hamilton contact centre director Victoria Hamilton said: “The funds raised so far is testament to the hard work and determination of employees at the contact centre.

“Whilst it’s been very inspiring to see so much enthusiasm from colleagues to raise funds for some very worthwhile charities, it’s also been motivating to volunteer in and around the local community.

“Our fundraising efforts continue and we have even more events planned in the next few months, including a sky dive.

“It’s safe to say that we are well and truly on-track to meet our fundraising target of £100,000 by the end of this year. Who knows, we might even raise a bit more.”