Trust backs Pennies from Heaven to help war heroes
Staff at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services to people in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, are being encouraged to sign up to a charity payroll giving scheme, Pennies from Heaven, as a New Year’s resolution to help the country’s wounded soldiers.
Last summer, Trust staff had the chance to nominate and then vote for a charity to donate their spare pennies and Help for Heroes was selected as the Trust’s chosen charity for the coming year.
The charity was nominated by a member of staff who has family currently serving in Afghanistan, but many other members of staff also selected it as their number one choice.
Due to the popularity of two other charities, the Trust also decided to select those charities to donate to in the years following Help for Heroes – so 2011 will give to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust and 2012 will be for Young Minds.
The Pennies from Heaven scheme enables staff to donate a few pence to charity every month. The scheme works by employees pledging any pence shown in their monthly salary to Pennies from Heaven, who then pass on the money to the nominated charity.
The maximum amount that could be donated by any member of staff through the scheme is 99p per month, or £11.88 per year. Individually this won’t make a big difference to salaries, but collectively the Trust could raise £29,700 a year for Help for Heroes!
Help for Heroes uses donations to provide practical and direct support for wounded servicemen and women. The message of the charity is simple – it is strictly non political and non critical; and wants to help. It believes that anyone who volunteers to serve in a time of war, knowing they are risking their life, is a hero.
Help for Heroes founder Bryn Parry said, "The charity has become a phenomenon since it was launched in October 2007. When we began, we had no great plan for what it might become. Something has been done, something wonderful. All across the country people have joined in, people who feel like we do, people who are not arguing about the rights and wrongs of war, people who just want to do something to help. We understand that we can’t prevent wars, we can’t stop our young men and women from being hurt, but acting together we can help them get better."
Read more about Help for Heroes online at www.helpforheroes.org.uk
The Trust’s HR business manager James Corson said, "It is important for us to say thank you to our troops and provide all the support we can to help in the rehabilitation of the wounded, who have put their lives on the line. There is lots of media coverage for soldiers who have lost limbs, but not as much on the psychological side. Our staff are all too aware of the impact mental health problems can have on every day life and we hope our proceeds can help provided the necessary counselling centres."