WALSALL, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - July 3, 2012) -
Editors' Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.
The fundraising efforts of local HomeServe staff for Marie Curie Cancer Care were recognised nationally last night, as the company was nominated for the Best Business / Charity partnership award at the 2012 Institute of Fundraising Awards.
Guests from both HomeServe and Marie Curie attended the national awards ceremony, held at the Hilton London Metropole, in recognition of the home insurance and emergency home repair service's pledge to donate GBP 1 million to their national charity partner by March 2013, made up of GBP 500,000 in cash and GBP 500,000 of free home emergency cover for patients.
HomeServe recently passed the GBP 700,000 milestone, donating GBP 350,000 in cash - enough to help pay for 17,500 hours of Marie Curie nursing care. This follows a busy programme of employee fundraising and business donations, and the sponsorship and promotion of Marie Curie's summer walking events, Walk Ten.
HomeServe has also provided more than GBP 350,000 of free home emergency cover to Marie Curie patients, helping solve more than 500 emergencies since July 2010. More than 1,100 patients have signed up for the service, which offers free cover for call-outs, labour, parts and VAT for almost all home emergencies. HomeServe has also committed to raising awareness of Marie Curie by embroidering the charity's logo onto its engineers' shirt sleeves, and carrying the Marie Curie daffodil on all 294 vans in its fleet.
HomeServe staff have dedicated themselves to fundraising activity in a variety of ways, from sponsored sky dives to spin classes and cake bakes. Seventy per cent of employees have signed up to Pennies for Patients, which donates spare change from their monthly salaries, raising GBP 20,000 so far. HomeServe personnel have also participated in a series of cycle challenges, with the latest seeing a team of 50 riders pedal the 200km from Preston to Walsall in just two days, raising GBP 25,000.
Arun Sharma, Head of Corporate Fundraising at Marie Curie Cancer Care, said: "HomeServe have supported Marie Curie Cancer Care beyond the normal boundaries of a charity partner. Through the variety of fundraising activities they have got involved in they have helped Marie Curie Nurses to provide 17,500 hours of free care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes and in the charity's hospices. We are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of HomeServe staff and customers, who have helped raise these valuable funds. HomeServe's patient policy has also provided direct support to our patients. This is one of our most successful long term partnerships and we are extremely grateful to HomeServe."
Sarah Palmer, HomeServe's National Charity Manager said: "Seeing the immediate benefits of our fundraising and patient policies is its own reward, but it's been a great boost for the whole team to receive this kind of recognition for our continuing efforts. We've been working with Marie Curie Cancer Care as our charity partner since November 2009. It's been great to see how many of our colleagues have got behind this, at all levels and right across the business. We pride ourselves on being a caring and responsible company and we're proud to use the skills and expertise we have in HomeServe to help this important good cause."
Marie Curie Cancer Care needs the help of local people to raise GBP 7 million to build a new Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands - to provide care in the hospice itself and for people across the region who want to remain in their own homes. The new Marie Curie Hospice will support hundreds more patients and their loved ones with high quality care in a comfortable environment.
From fundraising to volunteering, there are many ways local people can support Marie Curie's BIG build appeal. For more information, visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/bigbuild.
About HomeServe
Every minute a HomeServe engineer comes to the rescue of a British household. With thousands of directly employed and sub-contracted engineers, HomeServe is a national emergency home repair service backed by a 24 hour claims handling and repair network.
HomeServe's tradesmen service provides households with access to approved tradesmen who are qualified to carry out a range of different jobs around the home. HomeServe tradesmen are guaranteed to turn up on time, to hold the necessary qualifications to do the job at hand, to provide a price before they start the job and will even guarantee their work for a 12 month period afterwards. HomeServe also offer insurance cover for plumbing, drains, electrical wiring and gas central heating.
About Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the UK's largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, it provided care to more than 31,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its nine hospices last year and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
Funding
Around 70 per cent of the charity's income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of our funds coming from the NHS.
Marie Curie Nurses
The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end of life care, totally free for patients in their own homes.
The right to die in place of choice
Research shows around 65 per cent of people would like to die at home if they had a terminal illness, with a sizeable minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be. Since 2004 Marie Curie Cancer Care has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die in their place of choice.
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