Ecorys donates thousands to UK homeless charity
The British branch of global consultancy Ecorys has boosted a UK homeless charity with an £11,500 donation. The firm chose Crisis as its charity of the year, presenting the organisation with a cheque during an event in August.
Amid the perpetual turbulence of Britain’s current economic and geo-political status, it has become alarmingly easy for politicians and business people alike to ignore those they step over on the way to another day hectoring one another about Brexit. Just because rough sleepers have been so easily ignored in recent years does not mean the problem does not exist, however. In fact at present the situation seems to be becoming far worse.
According to homeless charity Crisis, there are an estimated 12,300 rough sleepers in the UK, as well as an added 12,000 people sleeping in sheds, bins, cars, tents and night busses. The figures derived from research by Heriot-Watt University suggest rough sleeping has risen by 98% since 2010, while sleeping in tents and the like rose 103%. In a bid to help Crisis deal with the unfolding calamity, ahead of what is likely to be yet another cold winter, the UK wing of consultancy Ecorys has donated a significant sum to the charity.
At an event in mid-August, Ecorys handed Crisis a cheque worth £11,500, having named the organisation its “Charity of the Year.” The donation was made up of 1% annual profits (£9,500), staff donations and fundraising (£2,000) through activities including a Grand National Sweepstake; World Cup Sweepstake; Book sale; Bake sale; Midwinter Lido swim; Quiz Night; Fancy Dress; 10k Run; Xmas Jumper Day; and Bid Writing. As a result, over the last 5 years, Ecorys UK has now contributed a total of £55,000 via corporate donations of £45,000 and wider fundraising worth £10,000.
Darren Jackson, Ecorys UK Managing Director, said of the news, “This is a fantastic sum and is down to everyone’s commitment and hard work during 2018. Thanks and well done to the many people who organised, took part in, and/or donated money to the numerous fundraising initiatives carried out through the year.”
According to a presentation by Crisis at the London office, Ecorys’ £11,500 donation could help those in need in a multitude of ways. The donation is the equivalent of the cost of 108 sessions of counselling with a mental health professional, 2,400 sessions with a Crisis advisor at Christmas to introduce a homeless person to Crisis’ services, 204 places for guests at Crisis at Christmas, or 240 hours of pre-tenancy training for five homeless people.
Ella Dinsdale, Crisis, added, “‘Crisis is delighted to have Ecorys’ support for the second year running. Their commitment to ending homelessness is evident not only in the generous donation of £9,500, but also in their incredible employee fundraising total of over £2,000 for the year. Thank you to every single person at Ecorys who helped achieve this: your time, passion and creativity is truly inspiring and we hope to work with Ecorys again in the future to end homelessness together.”
