Saffron tops £100,000 in donations to support local charities

Saffron Building Society’s Community Fund has officially given over £100k to support local charities over the last decade.
Over £13.5k went to charities this year, a year when they needed it most.

18 May, Saffron Walden

The Saffron Building Society Community Fund, which is managed by Essex Community Foundation (ECF), has been providing grants to charities for a decade in December. This year, Saffron has granted a total of £13,578 to six different charities, which takes the total donations to over £100,000 benefitting over 55 local charities across East Anglia since the fund began in December 2001.

Claire Hunnable, Community Business Partner at Saffron Building Society, commented: “After such a difficult year, that left many charities struggling to raise money, the importance of the community fund couldn’t be clearer. The charities are chosen by our Grant Panel, which is made up of staff and members with the expertise and guidance from ECF. We are safe in the knowledge that all the grant money is well-spent supporting the communities around our branches.”

The charities receiving money from the fund this year are:

• 3rd Brentwood Scout Group – Towards the purchase of a second-hand minibus.
• Action for Family Carers – To help run activity groups for people with dementia in Harlow, Epping, and Great Dunmow.
• Red Kite rape and sexual abuse service – To upgrade the charity log digital record system to aid the setup of a Hertfordshire based charity supporting victims.
• Radio Forest – To upgrade the software and associated equipment of a hospital radio service covering Epping forest, Saffron Walden, and Brentwood.
• Stepping Stones Play & Learn Group – For the salary of a key worker to support children with complex needs.
• Beacon House Ministries – Advocacy work with vulnerable individuals leaving prison. Supporting and educating.

Claire continued: “We’re really proud to be able to support these important charities this year, and now that restrictions are easing, I am looking forward to visiting all of them and learning more about what they do. At Saffron, we pride ourselves on caring for our communities, so staying in touch with all the charities after the grants have been given is really important to the whole team.”

Saffron staff have proved consistently through the pandemic that it’s more than money when it comes to helping the less fortunate. Staff have been volunteering to assist those less able through the OnHand app, have provided a reassuring, friendly ear to customers on the phone during lockdowns and worked without ease to ensure everyone was financially able to navigate the year utilising free financial wellbeing calls.

To find out more about Saffron Building Society and its community efforts, go to the website at www.saffronbs.co.uk.

Published: 19 May 2021