Public can have their say on which good causes benefit from society money
VISITORS to Earl Shilton Building Society can have their say on which worthy cause they would like it to support thanks to new token collectors.
The collectors are installed at the head office in Earl Shilton as well as at the Barwell branch and will allow people to choose between two local groups every quarter, by placing a token into the corresponding box.
Once the tokens have been counted, a total of £500 will be split proportionately between the two, which this quarter are Action Homeless and Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes.
The initiative is part of the society’s In the Community fund, which aims to support events and groups operating in the area in a pledge to be at the centre of local life.
Paul Tilley, chief executive of ESBS, said: “We are delighted to be showing our support for both Action Homeless and Leicestershire & Rutland Blood Bikes with our new collectors.
“We have run our In the Community fund for many years, and now members can get directly involved by deciding which causes they would most like to see us donate to.
“If you haven’t already, make sure you place a token into one of the collectors when visiting either of our branches.
“You can also put forward a potential future recipient of the ‘In the Community’ fund by speaking to a member of staff.”
Based in Leicester, Action Homeless is committed to bettering the lives of those affected by homelessness and has been offering its support to individuals and families in the city and across the county for the past 40 years.
In 2017, the charity provided emergency housing and specialist support to more than 400 people.
Visitors to any of the charity’s centres are given access to a broad range of services that aim to tackle the causes and consequences of their homelessness.
The expert team of staff and volunteers work to ensure that people leave with a place to call home and the skills and resources to maintain independence.
Mark Grant, CEO of Action Homeless, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by esbs for their ‘In the Community’ token scheme.
“The support of the scheme will be valuable as we work to ensure that everyone affected by homelessness gets the support they deserve.”
Leicestershire & Rutland Blood Bikes is a registered charity run solely by volunteers, many of whom are keen motorcyclists, who provide a free, ‘out of hours’ courier service to public health bodies across the two counties.
The group assists hospital teams with the transportation of blood, blood products, pathology samples, patient notes, x-rays, patient scans, surgical equipment, donated breast milk and more.
The service allows NHS teams to reduce the cost of transport, which is then re-invested back into direct patient care.
A spokesperson for Blood Bikes said: “We very much appreciate the support of ESBS by including our charity in their community token collection scheme.
“Any donations received will certainly help us to keep our Blood Bikes on the road and enable us to continue our free courier service to the local NHS.”
More information is available on the ESBS website.