Homeless veterans given information technology support by donation from the Santander foundation

Single Homeless: Action Initiative in Durham Limited (SHAID) has received £5,000 to fund the purchase of information technology equipment for use by ex-service personnel staying at its supported accommodation centre at St Peters Court in Sacriston, Durham.

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.

SHAID opened St Peters Court to provide supported accommodation to homeless veterans across the North East. The development consists of sixteen self-contained fully furnished apartments where tenants may stay for up to two years. The aim of the charity is to provide veterans who have experienced homelessness with interim accommodation while supporting them in finding long-term, permanent housing.

The grant will enable the organisation to purchase information technology equipment which the veterans can use to stay in touch with family members via emails as well as look for training and employment opportunities in the local area via online job boards.

Tony Hammond, Manager at SHAID, said: “The funding provided by the Santander Foundation will improve the lives and overall wellbeing of the veterans living within the project. The ex-service personnel we home here rely on support like this and we are delighted to have received such a generous contribution.”

Martin Kemp, Branch Director at Santander’s Sunderland branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. We are committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting SHAID, and hope the donation makes a real difference to ex-service personnel.”

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Notes to Editors:

Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander 
Email: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk      Tel: 020 7756 4543

Tony Hammond at St Peters Court: 
Email: tony.shaid@hotmail.co.uk      Tel: 0191 371 9813

About SHAID/ST PETERS COURT

SHAID and St Peters Court provide supported accommodation to homeless ex-service personnel. For more information please visit: www.stpeterscourt.org  

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 £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities 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 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 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.

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