Media Release: Julia’s House Gets Recession Smart(ies)

Friday 8 May, 2009; Julia’s House is helping to combat the effects of the current economic climate with some simple but innovative fundraising ideas to encourage local businesses to continue to support the Dorset children’s hospice.

It costs around £2.4million to run Julia’s House, yet the charity receives just three per cent of its total annual funding from the government. The hospice replies on support from the local community and businesses to help care for nearly 100 life-limited children across Dorset.

While support from the general public remains strong, figures from the first financial quarter of 2009 have revealed a considerable dip in corporate contributions to Julia’s House, as businesses re-evaluate their priorities and staffing.

Rated as one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For, Julia’s House is always keen to rise to a challenge. So the hospice has developed two recession-proof ways in which local businesses can help to fundraise, without breaking the bank.

Julia’s House is setting all local businesses the Smarties® Challenge, a simple fundraiser which invites staff to eat some Smarties and then fill the tube with change. Promoted by Dorset Business, there are currently over 1,200 tubes in circulation in offices county-wide, including those of Nationwide, LV=, the Richmond Group and Poole Audi.

Tracey Holt, Head of Direct Sales at Nationwide, commented; "Nationwide has been a Corporate Friend of Julia's House for almost a year now and in that time we've raised £4,000 for this well deserved charity. The Smarties Challenge has been a real winner with the staff at Nationwide due to its simplicity. It’s wonderful to be able to raise funds for Julia's House with little organising required and of course the opportunity to eat chocolate. Nationwide's commitment to supporting the local community is as strong as ever and our work with Julia's House gives us a great opportunity to embed this further.”

Julia’s House gave out over 150 Smarties tubes to Nationwide staff and 38 full tubes have already been collected, raising a total of £150.26. The average raised per Smarties tube is £5, but each tube can hold up to £27. Julia’s House is happy to provide the Smarties or you can simply supply your own. The tubes will be collected by Julia’s House within a month.

The Payroll Giving/Give as You Earn scheme is another easy way to donate to your charity of choice with minimum effort. Staff can elect to donate regularly through their monthly pay packet, before they are taxed. This means that it only costs £4 to make a donation of £5 if you pay tax at the 20% rate or just £3 to donate £5 at the 40% rate.

A donation of 20p per hour would therefore total an annual contribution of over £500. If just 20 people at a place of work signed up for this scheme over £10,000 would be raised. That’s enough to fund a Julia’s House Carer for a year.

Jane Errington, Corporate Fundraiser at the charity, commented; “Despite the current economic climate, there is still a great deal of goodwill towards supporting Julia’s House. So we have deliberately set out to provide easy, fun and time-efficient ways for Dorset employees to fundraise for their local children’s hospice.

“The take-up for the Smarties Challenge has been fantastic and is spreading across the county, while Payroll Giving is increasingly being adopted as a tax-free way for staff to make significant annual contributions at minimum outlay. At a time when every company is looking for positive PR, support for a charity can be one of those positive factors that motivates staff and makes certain businesses stand out from the crowd.”

To find out more about how Julia’s House can help to guide any local business through the process of setting up Payroll Giving or any of these recession-busting fundraising ideas, call Jane or Caroline at Julia’s House on 01202 607400.

Julia’s House also has a range of inter-company events planned this summer. A Beach Fun Day for the charity’s Corporate Partners will be held on Friday 3 July, where activities will include beach volleyball, competitions and a barbeque.

Attached Photography – please see the thumbnail and download link at the bottom of this press release:
Nationwide Goes Smarties Mad For Julia’s House – Staff at Nationwide in Bournemouth are wholeheartedly supporting the Julia’s House Smarties Challenge.

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Notes to Editors

Julia’s House is Dorset’s hospice dedicated to children with life-limiting conditions. The majority of the children that it cares for are unlikely to live into adulthood (defined as beyond the age of 18). The children’s hospice complements the work of the Julia’s House Community Team, which consists of 65 nurses and carers who travel the county, providing life-changing support for families in their own homes.

In 2008 the charity provided 7,318 hours of care in the community and 5,170 hours of care at the hospice in Corfe Mullen, equating to an overall 65% increase in the care hours compared with the previous year.

It costs around £2.4m to run Julia’s House, yet the charity receives just three per cent of its total annual funding from the government. The rest of the charity’s essential income is raised through the generosity of the Dorset community, corporate partners and charitable foundations. For more information about Julia’s House, please contact 01202 607 400 or visit www.julias-house.org

Julia’s House achieved an outstanding ranking of 14th overall in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For 2009 and was also awarded the maximum Three Star rating by Best Companies in 2009. This elite ‘Michelin-style’ star accreditation recognised the excellent workforce engagement and management as ‘Extraordinary’. This rating placed Julia’s House as the highest ranked organisation in Dorset and the top children’s charity in the UK.

Julia’s House Media Contact:
Emma Spearing, Hazel PR
Tel: 01202 862410 Fax: 01202 862301 Mobile: 07736 341828

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