Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity was awarded the top grant of £50,000, enabling the charity to provide essential support and a better quality of life for 50 seriously ill children who would otherwise face an uncertain future alone.
Walking With The Wounded received £25,000, aiding the re-education and retraining of the UK’s wounded servicemen and women by assisting veterans in gaining independence through new, long-term careers outside of the military.
Solace Women’s Aid, a charity that provides life-saving support to more than 10,000 women and children survivors of domestic and sexual violence a year, was also awarded £25,000.
Emma Haines, Director of Marketing and Fundraising for Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, said: “We are so grateful to News Corp for its £50,000 donation. This money will make a significant difference, enabling us to support even more families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness, when they need it most. Rainbow Trust Family Support Workers spent 7,671 hours last year helping to organise vital hospital appointments, explaining medical terms and helping look after sick children in hospital.”
Andrew Cook, Director of Fundraising for Walking With The Wounded, said: “Our overriding aim is to assist the most vulnerable veterans reintegrate back into society. By supporting our charity, News Corp is specifically giving homeless veterans and those struggling to overcome mental illness the opportunity to achieve independence, employability, and ultimately rebuild their lives and reintegrate back into society. The charity, our Trustees and most importantly our beneficiaries are extremely grateful for this opportunity and their support.”
Mary Mason, CEO of Solace Women’s Aid, said: “Solace Women’s Aid was absolutely delighted to hear that the staff from News UK, HarperCollins and Dow Jones have chosen this fantastic charity to support. The generous £25,000 donation will make a real difference to the support we can provide children and young people in our refuges in Haringey. These children and young people have all experienced or witnessed horrific domestic violence and we will help them to rebuild their lives free from abuse.”
The winners were chosen from a shortlist of seven charitable organisations that strengthen, support and provide for the communities in which News Corp’s UK-based employees live and work.
More than 1,000 votes were cast by employees from across the three companies – including those at News Corp UK’s London Bridge headquarters, News UK’s print site in Broxbourne and HarperCollins’ Glasgow distribution centre – who were invited to vote for the charities they thought deserving of the funding.
Now in its second year, the initiative opens up further opportunities for employees of Dow Jones, HarperCollins UK and News UK to get involved in volunteering, fundraising and long-term support, says News Corp.
