ICG brings back Give Back Fridays

Warton based marketing agency, ICG has embraced the season of giving with its annual Give Back Fridays.

In true festive spirit, it has selected a series of local causes to support every week in December and this year it concentrated on charities in the village it has called home for the last 29 years.

First up was the Fylde Foodbank, which is part of The Trussell Trust’s foodbank network and supports communities in St Annes, Lytham, Kirkham and in Warton.

The ICG elves supplied some much-needed items such as toiletries, food and lots of Christmas goodies including selection boxes, advent calendars, mince pies and Christmas puddings.

Next on the list was The Warton Book Exchange. The team raided their bookshelves at home to donate a great selection of novels including several Terry Pratchetts, the Just So Stories and the Life of Pi as well as making a cash donation.

The Warton Book Exchange is a great community facility that provides an important focus for people living in Warton and the surrounding area.

It is organised by volunteers of the Village Hall Trust which is currently working on a plan to create a new space in the heart of the village for community activities.

The next donation was in response to a social media post from the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal stating that it was struggling for donations this year.

Within an hour everyone at ICG had clubbed together to collect £400, which was promptly spent on toys and clothes that were delivered to the Mission Christmas HQ.

Thousands of children live in poverty and many are at risk of waking up without presents to open on Christmas Day, so Mission Christmas makes a real difference.

The final festive stop was just down the road to the EGG Performing Arts and Wellbeing School in Warton.

Set up in 2019, it is a project by Streetwise Youth Community Centre to help young people manage communication barriers and mental health. A cash donation along with a whole host of Christmas decorations were delivered.

Simon Couchman, managing director at ICG, said: “We have really enjoyed meeting the inspirational people and community groups as part of this year’s Give Back Fridays. Giving back to the local community is one of our company values and during these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever.

“The ICG team had a lovely time meeting all the inspirational people behind these local charities and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”