Here is what our colleagues have been doing for charity

Are you thinking of doing a charity challenge or fundraising for a cause close to your heart?

If you apply for our Charity Fund, we can match-fund what you raise.

The Charity Fund is available to tenants and colleagues to match the money raised from their fundraising activities for the benefit of local charities.

Here is a round-up of what our colleagues have been doing to support various charities over the past few months:

• Income Collection Officer Sarah aims to complete at least one charity challenge a year. This year's challenge was completing Cancer Research UK's Walk 100 miles in May. This was dedicated to her cousin who was diagnosed with Stage 4 incurable cancer last year. Sarah said: "I can't cure her but I can hopefully contribute to vital research for cures. I completed over 150 miles and with the help of the Charity Fund application, raised £2,213, plus gift aid, which is phenomenal."

• Accounting Manager Debbie took on the Moonlight and Memories Walk for St Catherine's Hospice, and raised £190 through sponsorship, which was match-funded by the Group.

She said: "I signed up to the walk this year with my sister and both of our families, in memory of our mum and dad. If anyone else embarks on a fundraising event, please consider asking the Group to match your total. The form was very straight forward to download and complete, and the donation was made soon after I submitted it."

• Nicola and Claire from the Supported Living Team also took on the Moonlight and Memories walk for St Catherine's Hospice. They were joined by Nicola's mum Maureen and raised £820, which was matched-funded by the Group to a total of £1,640.

• Liz and Marj from our women's refuge organised a team to take part in Race for Life's Pretty Muddy in memory of their colleague Sarah who had bowel cancer and passed away last year.  They were joined by colleagues Zoe, Julie, Lisa, Natalie and Richard. They raised £1,161.25 (including Gift Aid). The Group match-funded another £954, which along with Gift Aid, took the total that the team raised to more than £2,300 for Cancer Research UK.

• Alarm Response Centre Operator Carol raised £500 for Breast Cancer Now by doing a skydive. This was matched by the Charity Fund to raise a total of £1,000 for the charity.

• Rachel, Senior Property Services Administrator, took part in the Race for Life at Witton Park in Blackburn. She said: "This is an important charity for me as my dad has recently been treated for cancer at Rosemere.  I am also doing it in memory of some very special people who we have unfortunately lost." Rachel raised £270, including match-funding from the Charity Fund.

• Big Team Challenge - As part of our Big Team Challenge completed by teams across the Group, we promised to donate £50 to a chosen charity by all teams completing the step challenge in May.  This resulted in a whopping £1,975 raised for a variety of charitable causes, including those researching or offering support for cancer, dementia, mental health, animal welfare, hospice care, and more.  

• Key Sponsored Sleepout in May - We received eight Charity Fund applications from colleagues for a total of £1,596, which was match-funded.  This led to more than £3,000 being donated to Key Unlocking Futures by the Group and colleagues. Overall, the sponsored sleepout raised £5,500.

Jayne Allison, Business Development Manager at Key, says: "We are really grateful to the Group for the match-funding, as it makes a considerable difference to our final total and to the overall work we can fund.  It is also a further incentive for colleagues to get involved and support Key, helping even more people to build better lives."