Autonet Insurance
Autonet has given away more than £20,000 to EIGHT community groups.
Autonet insurance gave The Gingerbread Centre a surprise last week by giving them 10 thousand pounds.
The insurance group asked a number of community organisations to write bids stating why they felt the money should be awarded to them.
Competition was strong, with a lot of worthy causes entering. Over 130 local charities and community groups bid for prizes of 1 thousand, 5 thousand and 10 thousand pounds.
Finalists were asked to attend The Potters Bar to give more information about their causes. Little did everyone know they were there to receive a cheque. Everyone invited were winners!
Schools project
The money will be used for the “Mental Health Matters” campaign. The campaign runs in conjunction with the Gingerbread Schools project.
Gingerbread will work with primary and secondary schools in Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire. It is hoped that the schools who take part will feel compelled to raise money for the centre.
The primary school project will look at homelessness, compassion, expressing feelings and stories from the city. The secondary school project will look at budgeting, teenage pregnancy, homelessness and where to go for help in the city.
Paul Deakin, The Gingerbread Centres fundraiser said:
“After hearing about the fantastic work people were doing in the city, I knew it would be close. As the names were being read out and the cheques were being given I became more and more nervous. Finally with tears in my eyes our name was read out, this money will help us so much towards our goal. We sometimes struggle to compete with bigger organisations, so this is a real boost”
Get involved
The schools project is already being piloted in a number of primary schools. It is hoped that the project will be rolled out into secondary schools in the new year.
Anyone who is interested in being involved in this project should contact the fundraising manager on 01782 973491 or email paul.deakin@gingerbreadcentre.co.uk
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