Charities delivering much-needed frontline services to Trafford residents have received a huge boost this week with news of a £25,000 pledge to the Trafford Crisis Fund, which with the help of local businesses and residents could be turned into a huge £50,000 contribution.
The Oglesby Charitable Trust has promised to match-fund donations to the Trafford Crisis Fund up to a value of £25,000 over the coming weeks. The offer is available until the end of October, and donations can be made via the Just Giving page.
The Trafford Crisis Fund was launched in May and money raised to date has helped to pay for immediate crisis relief for hundreds of people during the lockdown – including delivering food parcels and securing access to medication. As the pandemic evolves the Crisis Fund is now turning its attention to providing financial support to charities helping residents with the social consequences of the pandemic, including unemployment, an increase in domestic violence, financial hardship and homelessness.
The Oglesby Charitable Trust was established by the late Michael Oglesby CBE DL, the founder of Bruntwood, and his wife Jean. Both organisations are to this day led by Oglesby family members, and share the same values relating to community responsibility and philanthropy.
The pledge comes at a crucial time as many small charities have seen their income streams slashed and fundraising efforts cancelled during lockdown, forcing them to dig deep into reserves and in some cases struggling to survive.
Aileen Edmunds, Head of Development at Trafford Housing Trust said:
“This is a brilliant offer from the Oglesby Charitable Trust and comes at a really important moment in our response to meeting the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.
There is no doubt that the need for support on the ground is rising. Within Trafford we have seen a huge increase in applications for Universal Credit, and job losses as a result of the virus are sadly now being seen on a daily basis. Social consequences are unfortunately inevitable, but securing funding for the excellent small charities and voluntary organisations with the know-how to support people throughout the borough will make a huge difference to our ability to provide prompt and effective assistance as and where it is needed.
We hope other businesses and individuals will be inspired by this very generous donation to also make a contribution, particularly as every pound they give will effectively be doubled by the pledge.”
Cllr Graham Whitham, Trafford’s Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships, added:
“Thank you very much to the Oglesby Charitable Trust for this amazing donation to the Trafford Crisis Fund. We are delighted with the number of contributions to the Fund – and the desire of businesses and individuals to support their fellow residents affected by the pandemic has been really heartening to see. But the challenges faced by our local charities and those they support are not over.
In this year where many fundraising events have been cancelled, contributing to the Trafford Crisis Fund is a great way of setting a challenge and raising money for a worthwhile local cause in the process, and we would love to see more people getting active and creative to support the fund in whatever way they can.”
Posted on Friday 9th October 2020