Irwin Mitchell Raises £19,000 For Charity Of The Year
Food redistribution charity FareShare is set to benefit from a £19,000 donation from Irwin Mitchell’s London office - equivalent to 80,000 meals for people in need - after lawyers at the firm spent the last year raising funds for the organisation.
FareShare was nominated by staff at the London office to be their Charity of the Year for 2016 as part of a nationwide initiative developed by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation.
Established in 1997, IMCF is an independent registered charity set up by the firm, which has donated more than £1.5 million to third sector organisations. A record £163,000 was raised in total across the law firm’s offices in 2016, with the £19,000 for FareShare also being a record for Irwin Mitchell’s London office.
FareShare fights hunger by ensuring good surplus food is not wasted. The charity has been working in partnership with hundreds of retailers, manufacturers and processers for more than 22 years, to redistribute surplus food to more than 5,500 partner charities all over the UK. These groups help support vulnerable people in homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch clubs and domestic violence refuges, who would otherwise struggle to access food.
Alison Eddy, Regional Managing Partner at Irwin Mitchell’s London office, said: “We are delighted to be able to provide this record donation to a truly fantastic cause.
“Our Charity of the Year initiative is something all of our employees are very passionate about, with everyone pitching in to raise funds in a variety of ways across 2016 to ensure we can provide quality support to this charity.
“Last year was a record-breaking one in terms of our fundraising work and we are very proud to be able to give back to the local communities where we work in this manner.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO at FareShare said: “We are hugely grateful to everyone at Irwin Mitchell’s London office for this fantastic donation which will allow us to make a huge difference to a lot of people’s lives. Working with the firm across 2016 has been an absolute pleasure and we truly appreciate the hard work and effort which has gone into raising these vital funds.”
The charities and community groups that receive food from FareShare, cook hot, nutritious meals on site for their beneficiaries, which they provide alongside life-changing support services. Speaking about the food they receive from FareShare, Eloise, a chef at St Mungo’s Broadway, a charity which provides bed and breakfast support to more than 2,200 people a night across London and the south of England who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless explains why having access to wholesome foods is so important for the people they support:
“Food is so important at the centre. When they arrive here, most of our residents aren’t in the right state of mind to cook let alone shop for ingredients and plan their meals. The regular home cooked meals they receive here are absolutely vital not only in giving them a sense of routine but also helping them feel that someone cares.”
The funds raised for FareShare will go towards supporting its plans for the future, which include further developing its links in the food industry, improving its reach for redistribution and creating a more sustainable network.