Giving Something Back
Accelerate views that from its successes, it has a corporate and human responsibility to give back to the local and wider community. These values are held close to the hearts of all of the directors at Accelerate and is an area that we promote to all of our employees, through awareness and a focus on social giving.
Accelerate has been the main corporate, regular donor, to this charity since 2011. This charity supports the most deprived families across East Anglia and London, through working directly with both primary and secondary schools. Accelerate provides a monthly fund to this charity, which is stipulated for use only on direct impact activities/requirements of the families in need, this way we can ensure that our funding reaches those who need it directly and is not swallowed up into overhead costs. In addition, we have also provided extra funding to the BCCS to provide a SENS suite to an outer London primary school and we provide food vouchers every December, through the BCCS social workers, to support those families most in need. This is currently running at 40 families for 2019. Finally, we also fund all raffle prizes for the charities annual Autumn Concert, which is another fund raising event, delivering additional money raising streams for the charity.
This charity was brought to the attention of Accelerate back in early 2017, when one the fundraising officers met with one of our directors demonstrating how some of the countries (especially in Eastern Europe) are struggling with Cancer related care – which was a story very close to his heart. Having seen the somewhat horrendous conditions and lacking medical facilities especially in end of life care, Accelerate have commence supporting this charity with further planned strategic partnership in 2021.
Accelerate, through our support of the BCCS Childrens Charity, were contacted direct by St Clare’s Primary school, which is located in the most deprived area of England, in 2016 to see if we could support one student who was unable to attend the end of school year 6 residential trip. These residential trips are an extremely important aspect of the students social, welfare and overall personal development and helps prepare them for the move to secondary school. Accelerate, of course funded this trip in 2016 and have continued to fund new students for their end of year 6 trip, for example in 2019 we funded four students and we have just provided funding for six students to attend their end of primary education trip in 2020.
This is a special needs and vulnerable persons charity, combined with an equine rescue centre, providing mutual therapy, to both human and equine. This charity has been a critical catalyst in helping local vulnerable people gain confidence and self-worth. This charity provides services to SuffolkMind, local support groups, schools and local council referrals, all free of charge. This charity fell into crisis during 2018, when they were evicted from the charities base, as part of a change of ownership of the premises and land occupied by the charity. Accelerate, responded to an appeal by the charity, and stepped in to fund over 80% of the monthly costs of a temporary home for the charity, enabling it to continue with its important work during a period of turmoil and unrest. Accelerate has also supported this charity in finding a new home and has committed to continuing to provide a monthly fund to ensuring the future security of this charity and the wonderful work it does with those people most in need.
This charity is being supported by one of our directors, Maria Stallwood, who spent three months, in the most remote and poverty-stricken areas of Ethiopia, working in the make shift children’s hospitals, providing on hand support to the doctors, nurses and aid workers already there.