Record number take part in City Giving Day 2019
Melanie May | 30 September 2019 | News
424 London businesses celebrated their charitable and volunteering efforts for this year’s City Giving Day 2019 – a record number for organisers The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
The firms showcased their philanthropic efforts on 24 September, with thousands of City and Canary Wharf workers, clients, suppliers and supporters wearing red for the day.
City Giving Day champions the corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, or volunteering initiatives that companies in the Square Mile do to support charity, society, their local communities, and the environment in which they work.
Alderman Peter Estlin, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, as well as the Lady Mayoress, Sheriffs and Aldermen visited more than 50 companies across the Square Mile who took part in the celebration through a variety of awareness and fundraising events.
Estlin said:
“City firms are doing some really valuable work, benefitting society through business volunteering, fundraising events and philanthropic work. City Giving Day 2019 was a great chance to spread the word about this amazing work, as so many businesses look to extend their philanthropic work and corporate social responsibility.
Activities throughout the day included a quiz, treasure hunt, and a fundraising static bike competition.
The Lord Mayor took part in Tour de Canary Wharf and Tour de City, pedalling for charity. Organisations took part with a range of activities, including hosting bake sales, a rickshaw challenge, coffee mornings, and visiting local charities.
Jonathan Bewes, Vice Chairman, Corporate & Institutional Banking at Standard Chartered Bank, said:
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“City Giving Day is a great mobilising day to recognise the contribution the City makes within our communities. This City Giving Day, Standard Chartered celebrated the launch of our Futuremakers programme, Goal, which aims to unleash the economic potential of girls in underserved communities.”
Among the other firms taking part, Arthur Financials organised a bake off, had a sponsored haircutting session, and supported young people with employability skills.
MacFarlanes LLP saw 13 teams go head to head in their annual static triathlon today, raising over £4000 for their Charity of the Year, The Royal Marsden, and bringing the total for their partnership to over £125,000.
Addleshaw Goddard welcomed the Lord Mayor to their office for Afternoon Tea where they were able to showcase the CSR work taking place across the firm, while over 70 employees at KMPG collectively rowed 1,000km to raise money for NSPCC.
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal’s three chosen charities, which will be supported through City Giving Day, are Place2Be, OnSide Youth Zones and Samaritans.
Place2Be will use the funds to provide children in 180 schools across London with access to mental health and emotional support, tackling the 75% of mental health issues that start in childhood.
OnSide Youth Zones is creating five state-of-the-art centres in areas of deprivation, providing access to a safe space and programme of activities ranging from sport and music to mentoring, transforming lives in communities for those that need it most. They have already opened centres in Barking & Dagenham and Barnet.
Samaritans’ new initiative Wellbeing in the City will use the funds raised for its online platform, giving employees skills to manage wellbeing in the workplace.
WATCH: Highlights of City Giving Day 2019
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.