Employees from transport operator FirstGroup have donated more than £1,400 to charities in Reading and London.
The funds were raised through a charity auction, held at the offices of FirstGroup’s in-house claims management team.
A variety of items were made available for bidding, with star lots including an iPad and a Fitbit watch.
Employees collectively paid £1,000 for the prizes and FirstGroup contributed a further £400, all of which was split between the Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice and music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.
Sue Lipinski, FirstGroup’s senior claims handler, nominated Nordoff Robbins for the donation after losing Doug, her guitar-teaching husband, in 2016.
Sue said: “Music was a great part of Doug's life, whether he was playing, teaching, writing or listening to it. There was always music playing in our house. Doug was always happy to pick up a guitar to raise money for charity and that’s why I asked for donations to Nordoff Robbins instead of flowers for his funeral.”
Clare Sturgess, Community Fundraiser for Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice, said: “We would like to thank FirstGroup for their donation. This money is vital to the services we provide here in the local community - we couldn't continue to provide incredible care without the support of people like them. £500 could pay for a day of inpatient care, so FirstGroup’s fundraising efforts are very much appreciated.”
Simon Robinson, FirstGroup’s Head of Claims, said: “I’m proud of the team for raising such a substantial amount of money for the charities; they both are very close to several members of our team. We’re also hugely grateful to our supply chain partners at Brownswords Surveillance Group and Examworks Investigation Services for generously donating items to be auctioned.”