A charity foundation set up by leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell has reached a remarkable milestone – having now donated over £1m to worthy causes since its formation in 1997.
The Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF) is an independent, registered charity set up by the partners and employees of Irwin Mitchell. Each year IMCF receives a lump sum donation from the partners and regular contributions from employees via a Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme. The firm holds a gold certificate for the GAYE scheme, marking them out as being one of the top 10 contributors to the scheme in the UK.
As well as raising vital funds, the IMCF also coordinates many charity challenges in each of the firm’s UK offices from cake sales and market stalls, to Dragon’s Den style competitions, while other staff have cycled, walked or ran the length and breadth of the country to raise money.
Adrian Budgen, a Partner at the law firm and Chair of IMCF, said: “I want to thank each and every one of those at Irwin Mitchell involved in reaching this important milestone. It is an amazing achievement and highlights our commitment to communities we serve. It is our way of giving something back.
“As well as assisting our local office charities of the year, the IMCF also helps major worldwide causes such as Children in Need, Comic Relief, Macmillan coffee mornings, Oxfam Unwrapped, Tsunami and Earthquake appeals and Operation Christmas Child and many of the national cancer charities to name a few.
“Whilst we often have a lot of fun, and carry out some hard work, during our charity challenges, it is often very humbling to be involved with some fantastic causes and help others who may not be as fortunate as ourselves.”
As part of the IMCF’s work, each office nominates a local charity to be named ‘Charity of the year’. These charities benefits from 12 months of active fundraising and any other support that the firm can provide. Over the years, many fantastic charities have been supported, many of whom we remain in touch with and continue to support in various ways.
The local office charities of the year for 2013 were:
- Birmingham – Acorns Children’s Hospice which offers a network of care for life limited and life threatened children and young people, and their families, across the heart of England.
- Bristol – Cots for Tots which is supporting Special Care Babies at St Michael’s Hospital.
- Glasgow – Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres which provides emotional, practical and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends.
- Manchester – Wooden Spoon which supports disadvantaged children and young people.
- Newcastle – The Abbie Harbotle Fund For Sick Children which is dedicated to improving children’s wards in hospitals across the North East.
- Leeds – Little Hiccups. A parent led support group for children and families with special needs and disabilities.
- London – KatCanDo which is a local cancer charity fundraising for the purchase of equipment and services to help with treatment of patients.
- Sheffield – The Children’s Hospital Charity which supports and enhances the work of the Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
