FirstGroup has announced a one-year extension of its award-winning partnership with UK children's charity, Action for Children, now set to run until 31 March 2022.
Action for Children protects and supports vulnerable children and young people by providing practical and emotional care and assistance, ensuring their voices are heard and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. The extension of the partnership will help the charity continue their vital work in this area across the UK.
The partnership began in 2018 when Action for Children was chosen by thousands of employees across FirstGroup’s UK businesses through a ballot. Since then, FirstGroup and its employees across the UK have supported Action for Children through donations, fundraising, volunteering, and pro bono support
Examples of activities undertaken by FirstGroup employees include, spending a night sleeping out for the annual ‘Boycott Your Bed’ event, putting on charity Santa buses for customers over Christmas, and running, walking and cycling hundreds of kilometres as part of the Group’s annual Graduate Charity Challenge.
Through efforts such as this, the partnership reached its target of £1m in 2019, two years ahead of schedule, and is now valued at more than £2.6m in cash, fundraising, and the commercial value of gifts in kind.
Matthew Gregory, Chief Executive of FirstGroup, said: “We’re incredibly proud to continue working with Action for Children. Our partnership is helping to transform the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people across the UK and raising awareness among our employees and customers.
“FirstGroup employees have really gone above and beyond to support this partnership, not least throughout the pandemic, continually finding creative ways to keep raising vital funds and awareness to support vulnerable young people and their families in our communities.”
Melanie Armstrong, Chief Executive of Action for Children, said: “The passion and commitment shown by FirstGroup colleagues in helping children and young people on their journey to better mental health is outstanding. We are incredibly grateful to FirstGroup for our partnership, which is providing essential support to children who desperately need our help and delighted that they’ve chosen to continue on this journey with us.
“Our frontline workers tell us the pandemic has affected the mental health of over three-quarters of the children and young people they support. As we emerge from the pandemic, it’s crucial they receive support as early as possible. Thanks to our continued partnership, Action for Children can be a lifeline for those young people and give them the tools they need to have a safe and happy childhood.”
The benefits of the partnership were recognised at the 2020 Business Charity Awards, where it won the best charity partnership in the transport and automotive category.