Charity begins at home as building society staff pull out stops in wake of Boxing Day floods

As communities across the north of England continue the clear-up from the devastating Boxing Day floods, Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation has shown its support by pledging £25,000 to local appeals.
Staff from the Broad Gate head office of Yorkshire Building Society volunteering at St George's Crypt in Leeds.Staff from the Broad Gate head office of Yorkshire Building Society volunteering at St George's Crypt in Leeds.
Staff from the Broad Gate head office of Yorkshire Building Society volunteering at St George's Crypt in Leeds.

Leeds, Calderdale, York, Bradford and Cumbria have all received donations to help with the recovery which is still going on more than two months after unprecedented rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks, brought bridges to collapse and submerged thousands of homes and businesses.

Since the Government has pledged it will support charities helping those caught up in the floods by matching every pound of the first £2m raised, the donation will be doubled to £50,000 for the affected communities.

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Andy Caton, trustee for Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation, said: “The society’s members and colleagues across the north of England have been personally affected by the terrible floods we have seen recently, and so the charitable foundation was keen to do what it could to help.

“It’s amazing to see how quickly communities have come together in helping people affected by these floods – here in Leeds, that has been demonstrated by Kirkstall residents really rallying round to help others.”

Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation is funded through the Small Change Big Difference® scheme where members donate the pennies from the interest on their accounts just once a year to help smaller charities and good causes around the UK.

As well as the charitable foundation donation, the society and its colleagues have provided practical support to families and businesses affected by the floods.

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Branches across the country launched collections in January asking people to donate what they could to help those in need. In York people gave generously, helping to replace bedding, food and children’s toys.

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, said: “I have been struck by the generosity of local people and business to the many people devastated by the floods. It now falls to the Government to match the donations of people pound for pound across Yorkshire to make sure that all those who need help to get their lives back on track get the support they need and deserve.”

And colleagues also volunteered to help repair flood damage and get people’s lives back to normal. In Todmorden, colleagues from the society’s office in Leeds braved the elements to help restore canal banks swept away by the force of the water.

David Baldacchino, waterway manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “We’re really grateful for the support we’ve received from Yorkshire Building Society to help the canal recover from the awful devastation of the Boxing Day floods.

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“The canal is really important to local people and it’s fantastic to see the community wanting to roll up their sleeves and help out. Their efforts will help to make the canal a more enjoyable place for everybody.”

Dave Wardell, principal enterprise architect at Yorkshire Building Society and a Todmorden town councillor, said: “Yorkshire Building Society is committed to the communities it serves and volunteering is a really valuable tool in being able to give something back.

“The community of Todmorden has shown great strength since the devastating Boxing Day floods and we’re proud to be part of the clean-up effort.”

For more information about Yorkshire Building Society, visit www.ybs.co.uk, phone 0345 166 9510 or call into one of the branches.