Yorkshire law firm Gordons has donated its £10,000 staff Christmas party budget to nationwide foodbank charity The Trussell Trust and two local food banks in Leeds and Bradford.
In recognition of the fact that many families and individuals will struggle this winter due to the impact of Covid-19, the firm’s donation to the Trussell Trust will be used to help support food banks in its national network. At the same time, Gordons will make direct donations to the Leeds North & West and Bradford Central food banks.
According to research carried out by the Trussell Trust and Heriot-Watt University, 846,000 emergency food parcels will need to be provided nationwide by the Trussell Trust’s food bank network during October to December 2020. That’s one emergency food parcel every nine seconds, a 61 per cent increase on last year.
More than 50 per cent of people using food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network at the start of the pandemic had never needed one before.
Commenting on the donation, Samantha Stapley, chief operations officer at The Trussell Trust, said: “We’ve seen unprecedented numbers of people needing help from food banks as the impact of coronavirus has hit people’s incomes. This isn’t right.
“But thanks to the support of Gordons, we have been able to remain agile to the fast-changing situation, ensuring food banks in our network are better equipped to provide the lifeline of emergency food to people in crisis today while we work towards a future where everyone can afford the essentials. Thank you so much.”
Gordons’ executive board came up with the idea of donating the budget to the trust and have been supported by everyone at the firm.
Gordons partner and executive board member, Victoria Davey, added: “The Trussell Trust is doing an outstanding job in campaigning to help end UK hunger and the need for food banks.
“By donating to the Trussell Trust, everyone at Gordons knows we will be directly helping people less fortunate than ourselves in the region, not just during winter, but also during a pandemic.
“We are proud of how everyone at the firm has supported this initiative and have received some lovely feedback from our colleagues. They are very pleased with how we have turned the cancellation of our Christmas party into something which will provide so many people with food, help and support.”
