Over £3m Now Donated To Good Causes By The Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation

Thirteen charities across the UK have benefited from £373,951 in donations thanks to colleagues from the national law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF).

Colleagues across Irwin Mitchell’s regional offices voted for the charities they would support via volunteering and fundraising, as part of the firm’s Charities of the Year programme, back in late 2019.

Due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 lockdown and its impact on charities, the decision was taken to continue supporting these charities through to the end of 2022, to reflect the unprecedented circumstances caused by the pandemic. Donations have been made to the charities at intervals throughout the period.

Irwin Mitchell’s Charities of the Year initiative is supported by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF), an independent charity founded in 1997 that has now raised over £3 million for good causes in the UK and abroad. 

The 13 charities supported throughout the pandemic included hospices, foodbanks and organisations committed to offering support to the homeless, which proved vital to local communities throughout the covid-19 lockdown.

Thanks to generous donations by the IMCF, Irwin Mitchell, and the tireless fundraising efforts of its employees, despite many of them moving from the office to work from home, a grand total of £373,951.46 was raised.

In addition, 13 of Irwin Mitchell’s regional offices were also allocated a further £10,000 by the IMCF in December to donate to local homeless shelters and foodbanks, over the festive period – a total of £130,000.

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“For over 25 years the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation has been providing an outlet to allow the firm and employees alike to support the good causes that matter to them.

“This support was even more important during the pandemic and we’re proud not only to have passed the £3m fundraising mark but to have assisted such vital causes at such a testing time for them and the people and the communities they serve.” Adrian Budgen, Partner

Some examples of the impact of the Charities of the Year campaign included an emergency £10,000 donation to Midland Freewheelers in the summer of 2021, which allowed them to increase the size of their fleet of bikes in response to NHS demand for their services during covid-19 being at record levels.

PROMISEworks was able to take on two new mentors for vulnerable young people, while an Irwin Mitchell colleague trained with the charity to become a mentor. Midland Freewheelers, whose volunteers provide vital delivery services to the NHS were able to purchase a new ‘blood bike’ which has already clocked up 16,000 miles since August 2022. 

Donations will also support The Children’s Hospital Charity’s appeal to build a new on-site Helipad at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the designated Major Trauma Centre for children in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw who urgently need critical care from their Emergency Department.

The Children’s Hospital Charity in Sheffield was one of the first ever charities supported by the IMCF over 20 years ago and having seen their fundraising fall by around 35% in the first year of covid-19, the Irwin Mitchell team came up with innovative ways to raise money against the odds and helped fund an isolation room – a room that is used mainly for children who need to be isolated to prevent infections, for example bone marrow transplant patients - that has already made a big difference to patients and their families.

Looking ahead, the Charities of the Year programme is changing for 2023 with Irwin Mitchell employees nominating and voting to select three national charities, aligned to its Responsible Business strategic areas of focus.

Head of Responsible Business at Irwin Mitchell, Kate Fergusson, said: “While support for charities in our local communities will continue, our new National Charity Partnership programme allows us to lend focused, targeted support where it’s needed most. By concentrating our resources, we’re determined to make an even bigger impact.

“Our work to invest in our communities has come a long way and we’re all really excited about taking the next big step.”

The 13 charities supported throughout the pandemic period were: Midland Freewheelers in Birmingham; PROMISEworks in Bristol; Tom’s Trust in Cambridge; St. Wilfrid’s Hospice in Chichester; St. Catherine’s Hospice in Gatwick; Glasgow-based Enable Scotland; Maggie’s Yorkshire in Leeds; the Whitechapel Mission in London; the Manchester Foodbank, Readley Asbestos Support Group in Newcastle; Loose Ends in Newbury; Capable Creatures in Southampton and The Children’s Hospital Charity in Sheffield.