Ashtons Legal announces new Charity of the Year partnerships

Posted 20/02/2013

Ashtons Legal has announced that it will be supporting three local charities through a charity of the year partnership. From April 2013, the firm will be supporting Macmillan Cancer Support, Nelson’s Journey and Magpas.

Each year, Ashtons Legal staff vote for the charities they wish to support. The firm aims to raise at least £10,000 during the year through activities such as dress down days, cake sales and by staff taking part in sporting events.

We have already raised over £8,500 since last April for our current charities: EACH, Big C and Headway, with a Wills Week initiative and charity bowling event still to come. The funds have been raised by staff taking part in a 125 mile bike ride, a sky dive, Santa Runs, Hats for Headway and much more. An additional £1,700 was raised for St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds.

Ed O’Rourke, CEO at Ashtons Legal, says: “We are delighted to be supporting three new charities this year, each of which provide vital services and support in the local communities where we live and work.”

Sue Bailey, Associate and Chair of Ashtons Legal’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, added: “We recognise that the current climate is making fundraising for charities more and more difficult. We will be mobilising our staff to get involved in as many fundraising activities as possible throughout the year.”

Nelson’s Journey supports bereaved children and young people across Norfolk. Based in Norwich, they were founded in 1997 and since then have helped over 1,500 children who have lost someone close to them. Ashtons Legal has been supporting Nelson’s Journey through the provision of office space since January 2011.

Magpas works across East Anglia providing medical assistance by land and helicopter at the scene of accidents and emergencies. Their highly trained medical teams are all volunteers and can deliver enhanced skills and administer drugs which are not usually available to paramedics.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides practical, emotional and financial support to those affected by cancer, including through its community nurses, doctors and occupational therapists. One example of their success in the region is their benefits advice service in Ipswich, which has helped people with cancer across Suffolk gain access to over £7 million worth of benefits and tax credits.

Mandy Jordan, Macmillan’s Fundraising Manager in Suffolk says: “Macmillan wants to reach and improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer, but currently we can only reach one in two people affected. To change this, we need to raise more money to fund our support services and develop new ones. Ashtons Legal staff will be making a lasting difference to the lives of people affected by cancer and we are extremely grateful to them for supporting us.”

Find out more about the three charities here:

www.nelsonsjourney.org.uk
@nelsonsjourney

www.magpas.org.uk
@Magpas_Charity

www.macmillan.org.uk
@macmillancancer