Building society praised for proud community achievement”
Since 2018, Darlington Building Society has committed to donating five percent of its annual profits to charities in the community, with each of its nine branches hosting five charities that it supports through grants and volunteering for a year.
For the first time, charities that have benefited from the Local 5 initiative gathered at a celebration held at the Hullabaloo Theater in Darlington and paid tribute to the society for its “fantastic” support.
The event was the brainchild of branch manager Nicky Donoghue, who told the charity’s representatives: “Today’s vision is to not only say thank you for the wonderful work you all do, but also to create a networking forum in which They can share ideas and learn how to support each other.”
Since launching its 5% pledge in 2018, Darlington Building Society has donated almost half a million pounds with support from the County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF), which manages the community grants.
Michelle Cooper, chief executive of CDCF and keynote speaker at the event, said: “The demand is huge and it is impossible to support every application, but there is no doubt that Darlington Building Society can be extremely proud of its achievements in the community .” ”
The society is one of Theater Hullabaloo’s main sponsors and chief executive Ben Dickenson also acknowledged the society’s charitable work, saying: “It’s so exciting to work with a building society that has such deep roots and strong community roots.” Values.”
Ben thanked the society not only for sponsoring the cafe area in the children’s theater but also for sponsoring this year’s Hullabaloo In The Park festival, which was attended by around 13,000 people.
Other speakers were given a platform to highlight the work of the charities supported by Darlington Building Society. They were: Thomas Reed from King’s Foodbank in Darlington; Cheryl Scollay of Yarm Wellness; and Karen Winspear from Senses Wellbeing Center in Skelton.
Thomas revealed that King’s Foodbank had supported more than 700 families in Darlington in the last three months alone. “This wouldn’t be possible without the support of organizations like Darlington Building Society, so they deserve huge praise,” he said.
Cheryl added: “When we asked for help, Darlington Building Society listened and that meant so much. The support has been invaluable.”
And Karen said: “When Covid hit, Darlington Building Society gave us £5,000 so we could have central heating for our centre. You kept us warm and I just can’t thank you enough for what you did for us.”
