Sidmouth Voluntary Services (SVS) has received £4,720 to fund a series of ‘explorer workshops’ to benefit the elderly and disabled in the local area.
The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Sidmouth Voluntary Services is a local centre providing cooked lunches, hospital transport, social involvement and social activities for the elderly and vulnerable in the community. The charity’s headquarters, Twyford House, provides a safe and comfortable environment for activities and staff.
The grant will be used to fund workshops on subjects such as financial planning, IT skills and nutrition for a 12-month period. The donation will ensure everyone is offered a door-to-door transport service to and from each workshop, as well as all course materials and refreshments. The funds will also enable SVS to engage professional experts, in certain fields, to attend and help. These gatherings will be available to anyone who accesses the charity and aim to give people new experiences and information to enable them to live independently and avoid social isolation.
Philip Deegan, Chairman of Trustees at Sidmouth Voluntary Services, said: “The grant will help our members to become better informed on a variety of subjects. This will enable them to be more independent, self-assured and confident in their everyday lives. It will also help them to keep safe in our modern environment.”
Chris Harland, Branch Manager at Santander’s Sidmouth branch said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. Our branch is committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting Sidmouth Voluntary Services, and hope the donation makes a real difference to local people.”
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Notes to Editors:
Media Contact
Stephanie Harris at Santander Tel: 020 7756 4221 M: 07841 506 E: stephanie.harris@santander.co.uk
Lisa Bertin at Sidmouth Voluntary Services Tel: 01395 515063
About Sidmouth Voluntary Services
Sidmouth Voluntary Services has been providing services, care and friendship for the elderly and disabled in the Sid Valley area for over 50 years. They provide a number of services including a medical car service, Lunch Club, open every weekday, as well as a number of weekly trips to local supermarkets and monthly excursions.
For more information please visit: www.sidmouthvs.org.uk/
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £25 million in funding to 12,600 UK charities and in 2016 a further £5 million will be available through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2016, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c20,000 employees and operates through 841 branches (which includes 60 university branches) and 67 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
About Us
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain, with a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas. It is among the world’s top banks by market capitalization. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper, in a way that is simple, personal and fair. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.52 trillion in managed funds, 125 million customers, 12,200 branches and 188,000 employees at the close of 2016. Santander made attributable profit of EUR 6,204 million in 2016, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.