A charitable programme offering support to four Suffolk charities has been extended for an additional two years, with the total boosted to £200,000 over a five-year period.
Suffolk Building Society’s charity programme was redefined in 2022 to support four charities with more than just an annual donation. The Society pledged not only money but staff volunteering hours and fundraising events, and engagement with its 60,000 members.
The Society’s 10 locations across the county are used for charity promotion, and as collection points for goods. Four promotional films for the charities, two of which were shortlisted for awards, have been viewed thousands of times on social media and YouTube.
Under its Safe Homes for Suffolk campaign the Society selected expert charity partners in homelessness, isolation, and domestic abuse: Ipswich Housing Action Group, Emmaus Suffolk, and Lighthouse Women’s Aid. For its Saving Suffolk campaign, Suffolk Wildlife Trust was chosen, and the Society was an early supporter of its new nature reserve in Martlesham.
Jools Ramsey-Palmer, CEO at Ipswich Housing Action Group: “Our breakfast by invitation service relies on donations of food so I’m thrilled that four branches are acting as donation stations. Funding is so tight; the annual financial donation helps with essential overheads.”
Sally Winston, CEO at Lighthouse Women’s Aid: “Helping women and children survive Domestic Abuse depends enormously on awareness. The Society helped by sensitively producing a highly emotive film. Two Society staff members ran the Ipswich Half Marathon for us, raising £2,300 – enough to provide 15 families with a resettlement pack.”
Michael Strand, Community Fundraising Manager at Suffolk Wildlife Trust: “The Society got on board with our vision for our new nature reserve Martlesham Wilds from the start, and immediately amplified the message to their staff, members, and people across Suffolk. The Society really understands the role that nature, wildlife and biodiversity can play in our climate crisis.”
Claire Staddon, CEO at Emmaus Suffolk: “This annual cheque helps us quite literally to keep the lights on. We’ve gained a trustee through the Society’s volunteering programme, and hosted staff fundraisers and a member event at our Royal Oak community café in Ipswich. This has helped us to support vulnerable people in Ipswich and East Suffolk.”
Richard Norrington, CEO at Suffolk Building Society, said: “We were founded 175 years ago to help people acquire land and well-built homes, and in doing so, secure the vote. As well as protecting members’ savings, and supporting their home ownership ambitions, environmental and social issues remain central to our mission today.
“When we partnered with these four excellent organisations in 2022, we knew they were facing challenges accessing funding, and the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the situation. It therefore made sense to continue these successful partnerships for another two years, particularly given the extent to which our members and staff have engaged with the charities, whether by volunteering, attending member events, donating in branch, or by fundraising individually.”
