Lancashire charities given £19,000 boost from Studio.co.uk

This year, Studio's charity committee are celebrating their efforts, with over £19,000 raised in just 12 months.

The chosen charities are: North West Air Ambulance, East Lancashire Hospice and DS West Pennine. Representatives were invited into Studio's Accrington HQ to receive their cheques.

Sharon Benson, HR director at Studio said: "It was a pleasure to meet representatives from the charities and learn about how the money raised will make a difference to those who need it the most. The charity committee here at Studio work very hard throughout the year with our support, also often dedicating their own time and resources to fund raise.

I'm proud to say over the last five years Studio have raised over £82,000 for charity. It's incredibly important for us to give back to the community where we can. The majority of our colleagues are from the surrounding area and it's through their support and dedication we can continue to thrive."

Alison Burns, representative from DS West Pennine said: "I am here today as a parent who accesses the support and services DS West Pennine provides. Every month there is a group meeting for families who have children with Downs Syndrome and I have been attending for around six years. Currently over 70 families access the charity and we are welcoming more and more every week.

"The money raised and donated from Studio has made a huge difference to a small charity. It means we can continue our group meetings and provide fun activities for the children whilst offering a safe supportive environment for families. We have a different theme every month and do everything from discos and arts and crafts to hosting an animal petting corner! Families who want to get involved can find us on social media and join us the second Saturday of every month."

Leanne Green, events fundraiser at East Lancashire Hospice said: "We care for people in the East Lancashire community with life limiting illnesses. Currently we need to raise £3.7m per year to provide this service. We are really grateful to Studio for choosing us as their charity for the last year.

"The money will go towards resources to provide our patients with the care they need. We have a 10-bed in-patient facility to run and also work with individuals in their own homes or community. We are also always looking for more volunteers, particularly within our shops within East Lancashire."

Jennifer Barry, regional fundraiser at North West Air Ambulance Charity said: "We have three helicopters that operate 365 days a year providing emergency care and assistance to those who need it. As you can imagine it costs a huge amount to run- fuel alone for a helicopter is £9 a minute!

"Last year we had over 2,000 missions and more than 800 of these were within Lancashire. The money donated by Studio is a wonderful gift, everyone at the charity is very grateful. It will go towards much needed resources to help us continue to offer the service which helps so many people."

Barbara Fenton, charities co-ordinator at Studio said: "We're so proud to present each charity with a cheque for £5,638.84 and really hope this makes a difference to them. In addition, we've also given Macmillan £317 and Maundy Relief £2,000 through furniture donation.

"I'm extremely proud of these amounts and it's been a real team effort here at Studio. I'm grateful to the continued support from Sharon, our HR director and also Paul Kendrick, managing director, for supporting the charity team over the years.

"We've held cake sales, bucket collections, charity raffles and even knitted Easter chicks to help raise money for our charities.

"I'm pleased to announce that next year we'll be supporting two charities that have been chosen by our colleagues here at Studio. Dr. Kershaw's Hospice in Oldham and Derian House Children's Hospice based in Chorley.

"In addition to these charities, we're also going to be supporting the national charity Mind. We're all looking forward to fundraising for these great charities over the next year."

For further information DS West Pennine visit: www.dswestpennine.co.uk

For further information East Lancashire Hospice visit: www.eastlancshospice.org.uk

For further information North West Air Ambulance Charity visit: www.nwaa.net