AUTOMOTIVE giant Suzuki GB PLC is to sponsor 100 boxes to be provided to 100 families in the Milton Keynes area this Christmas.
Volunteers from across Suzuki and the Stadium MK group, including the MK Dons first team squad, will be coming together to pack and deliver the boxes, containing all the ingredients for Christmas Dinner as well as family games and more.
MK Dons Sports Education Trust chief executive Maralyn Smith said: “MK Dons SET is overwhelmed with the support from our key sponsor Suzuki, who have agreed to work in partnership with us to provide 100 families with a Christmas dinner this year.
“We at the SET want to share our Christmas with families across Milton Keynes and, with the support of Suzuki, we now hope to be able to spread a little happiness at the end of a difficult year for everyone.”
Suzuki GB’s managing director Nobuo Suyama said: “We are delighted and proud to be working closely with MK Dons Sports Education Trust and local charities this Christmas with the ‘100 Boxes for 100 families’ initiative.
“We hope it will make a real difference to their festive season in being able to have a full Christmas meal and enjoy a family board game too with our compliments, particularly after such a challenging year with the pandemic adding difficulties for so many.”
Suzuki has been based in Milton Keynes for over 15 years, Mr Suyama added. “We are very pleased to again reach out to local people outside our business and spread some Christmas goodwill along the way.”
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Law firm: ‘We hope our giving will make a difference’
TRADITIONALLY, Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors has selected one charity to donate gifts to instead of sending Christmas cards. Over the years this has benefited many local charities including Milton Keynes Hospital, YMCA, Headway MK and Age UK.
This year the firm wanted to do more and decided to spread the donation further by selecting not one but five good causes.
This year the firm, based in Central Milton Keynes, has chosen Willen Hospice and MK Hospital Charity, which have been particularly hard hit in raising funds due to the pandemic.
Staff have also focused support on both the disadvantaged youth and the sporting young talent we have in Milton Keynes by donating to Transitions, Ride High and City of Milton Keynes Swimming Club.
Willen Hospice will use the money to support the travel costs of the Willen at Home team who will be caring for patients with life limiting illness in their homes across the community this Christmas.
The donation will also support Milton Keynes Hospital Charity’s Baby Leo campaign which is currently raising thousands of pounds for the neonatal unit at the hospital to purchase four very special incubators to benefit babies born too early, too small or very ill.
Ride High transforms the lives of disadvantaged children by giving them the opportunity to learn to ride and look after horses and giving them the self-confidence to engage with the outside world.
The donation to Transitions UK will assist vulnerable young people aged 14-25 who are struggling with personal disadvantage. The charity works with young people who have learning difficulties and special needs; those with emotional and mental health issues; those leaving care; and those at risk of offending or criminal exploitation.
City of Milton Keynes Swimming Club is the leading swimming club in North Buckinghamshire.
A spokesman for Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors said: “We hope that our giving this Christmas will help make a difference.”
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Shoppers come up trumps for children in refuges
STAFF at centre:mk have teamed up with KidsOut, the only charity working with Women’s Aid to support children living in refuges nationally and locally over the festive season.
More than 500 gifts, donated through the Giving Tree at centre:mk, are being distributed to children and teenagers living in refuge.
Having created tags for each child with their age and the gift they would like to receive, Guests removed a tag from the tree, bought the gift named on the tag and returned it to guest services where they have been stored ready for distribution pre Christmas.
Centre:mk’s centre director Kevin Duffy said: “We are absolutely delighted with the response and can’t thank everyone enough who has donated a gift. The kindness and generosity of our guests has been astounding and will make a real difference to children in our community who have suffered too much this year.
“To be able to put a smile on their face on Christmas morning is the best gift we can give.”
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Cycle store donates £6k to food distribution charity
Rutland Cycling, which has a store in Central Milton Keynes, is donating £6,000 to FareShare East Midlands towards delivering 24,000 meals to those in need.
The company pledged to donate 50% of all hire revenue in November across its 14 shops to FareShare East Midlands, part of the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, which provides food where needed to children and families.
Chief executive Karen Archer said: “As an essential retailer during the pandemic we have been in a fortunate position to have been able to continue to offer our hire bike service across Central England during the November lockdown.
“Being a family-owned business, we felt it was important to support FareShare East Midlands during these challenging times and are delighted to be able to donate £6,000 to the campaign that Marcus Rashford, the Manchester Utd footballer, has brilliantly raised the profile of during 2020.
“This will provide 24,000 meals to help make a real difference to families and individuals across the region, especially in the lead up to Christmas. Thank you so much to our hire customers and our store teams who have made this donation possible.”
Sue Spare, fundraising manager for Fareshare, said: “This donation will help provide meals to vulnerable men, women and children across the East Midlands in these unprecedented times.”
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