Sellafield Ltd chooses its local charities to support
Samaritans named as charity of the year.
Our chosen charities for this year.
Every year we ask our employees to help us choose our charities of the year, with funds raised split between organisations in West Cumbria and Warrington.
During 2019/20 employees helped to raise a massive £18,000 for MIND in West Cumbria and a further £11,000 for St John Ambulance in Warrington.
This year, due to Covid-19, we haven’t been able to go through the normal selection and voting process, so went back to our 2019/20 shortlist to select a charity that had branches close to Sellafield and our Warrington offices.
Due to the impact the pandemic has had on local charities and the community, we wanted to choose a charity that has seen an increase in demand and will continue to provide much needed support in the future.
The selected charity - and our charity of the year for 2020/21 - is the Samaritans. Funds raised will be donated to Samaritans of West Cumbria and Warrington and Halton and St Helens Samaritans.
Gary McKeating, Head of Community and Development said:
It’s been so encouraging to see the continued commitment from our workforce to support local causes and volunteer in their local communities over the last few months.
The chosen charity scheme is not just about raising funds, it’s about increasing awareness of the work that organisations in our communities do to support local people.
The Samaritans volunteers have seen an increased demand over the lockdown period and will continue to provide much needed help in the coming months.
The Samaritans answer a call for help every 6 seconds and they are there day or night for anyone who is struggling to cope, who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure and help to prevent crisis.
They give people ways to cope and the skills to be there for others and encourage, promote and celebrate the connection between people that can save lives.
The Samaritans and NHS have been working in partnership, creating a confidential support line for NHS workers and volunteers in England, to help nurses, doctors and porters to caterers, procurement teams and service managers.
Glynis Peacock, Branch Director, Samaritans of West Cumbria said:
Covid-19 is affecting the way many of us live our lives and it’s normal that this will affect people’s mental health.
There are lots of unknowns about the immediate and long-term future, and it’s becoming clearer that we are going to have to do things a little differently, particularly in the way we live our day-to-day lives. It’s natural that uncertainty and change will affect people’s mental wellbeing.