Care home group’s Christmas party fundraiser for food banks

DIGITAL partygoers from a Derbyshire-based care home provider have raised over a thousand pounds for a network of food banks.

The Hill Care Group’s Christmas party, this year held on video conferencing website Zoom, saw donations pouring in for The Trussell Trust.

The charity supports a nationwide network of over 1,200 food banks and has seen growing demand for emergency food parcels this year.

Staff from Hill Care’s head office, in Chesterfield, and 38 homes across Derbyshire, Yorkshire, the North East and North West of England, all dug deep for the charity.

They raised £1,030, which will help towards ensuring those living in poverty will have enough to eat this winter.

Alongside Hill Care’s staff, donations were also made by singer Lucie Lloyd and her family. It was Lucie’s idea to use the Hill Care event to fund raise for The Trussell Trust, after she was invited to perform Christmas songs for the staff.

Everyone who donated was entered into a raffle, with regional administrator Helen Orwin collecting champagne and chocolates after being drawn as the winner.

Wendy Waddicor, manager director of the Hill Care Group, said: “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone and, despite not being able to gather in person, we wanted to hold our annual Christmas party online to say thank you to our staff for all their hard work and incredible effort this year.

“We also wanted to use the occasion to raise funds for The Trussell Trust, a charity that does a huge amount of good for children and families living in poverty throughout the UK. I’d like to add my personal thanks to everyone who donated and helped us raise an incredible amount.”