Each year, News Corp says employees across News UK, HarperCollins and Dow Jones are asked to nominate a charity they would like to see supported. A pot worth £100,000 is then shared between the chosen charities. This year, the programme theme was Local Communities and Social Connections. A total of seven charities have been awarded a total of £100,000 for projects that support our local communities and promote social connections throughout the UK.
The winning charities are as follows: Jeely Piece Club, Time and Talents Association, Focus Ireland, ParkPlay, The Calthorpe Community Garden, Free Kicks Foundation and The Felix Project.
Jeely Piece Club is a Glasgow-based charity that works to combat child poverty by providing healthy meals, activities and support for local families. This grant will enable the team to work with around 300 children aged 5 to 12 years, providing fun-filled and educational sessions and projects 6 days a week.
Time and Talents Association supports people of all ages with mental health issues in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey by offering creative group activities, befriending services and employment advice. News Corp’s donation will fund its Finding Our Feet programme, supporting children born into disadvantage in the area.
Focus Ireland strives to end homelessness throughout Ireland by providing tailored housing solutions and support, and this donation will support its Nationwide Advice & Information services for around 170 people.
ParkPlay is a national charity that tackles huge societal challenges of physical and mental health and isolation, supporting communities to bring free outdoor play to their parks every Saturday. This grant will enable ParkPlay to open two new ParkPlays in Southall, an area of significant deprivation and health inequality.
The Calthorpe Community Garden is based in Camden, and this donation will fund its Social and Therapeutic Project for 20 weeks, running social gardening sessions twice-weekly, engaging students and elderly people in the community experiencing loneliness and poor mental health.
Free Kicks Foundation is a nationwide charity whose aim is to provide football-related activities for ill, bereaved and disadvantaged children. This donation will provide 20 schools with new football equipment including goals, footballs and training gear, affecting the lives of up to 10,000 pupils.
Finally, The Felix Project helps fight hunger and food poverty in London by redistributing surplus food to those in need. This donation will help The Felix Project rescue and redistribute food to some of London’s most vulnerable people.
Charlie Redmayne, CEO of HarperCollins UK, says: “We are proud to be supporting such worthy causes through News Corp Giving 2023. Each charity is doing amazing work for their communities and making a real difference in people’s lives. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects over the coming months."
Daisy Dunlop, EVP, director of corporate affairs, News UK, comments: “This year, the cost of living crisis prompted us to choose our theme of Local Communities and Social Connection in order to be able to make a difference to causes nominated by our staff in communities close to home. In addition to projects funded by our donations, each charity we are supporting will have opportunities for News Corp employees to volunteer their time over the coming year, from packing meals at Jeely Piece Club, to helping out in community gardens with The Calthorpe Community Garden.
“We are looking forward to working closely with these new charity partners through News Corp Giving 2023, and learning about the impact our donations have had on our local communities over the next year.”
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
