Branston donates over £19,000 to Lincolnshire KIDS

Children attending out-of-school activities organised by the Lincolnshire branch of national charity KIDS were presented with a cheque for more than £19,000 from Branston on Thursday (15 February).

KIDS Lincolnshire offers children and young people with additional needs the opportunity to attend after school clubs and activity days during the school holidays. Each week, local children can benefit from one trip away, one sporting day out and two sessions at local community centre St Christopher’s School in Lincoln.

Philip Greenwood, community fundraiser at KIDS Lincolnshire, said: “We receive no statutory funding, so the support from local businesses such as Branston is crucial to the work we do at KIDS. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to give these children the brighter future that they deserve.

“The money raised by Branston will pay for 260 day sessions, which provide children with fully supported one-to-one care, or 350 after school club sessions. The activities not only provide children with the opportunity to interact with their peers, but offer parents some well-deserved respite. All of the money raised in Lincolnshire stays in Lincolnshire, and we know this will make a real difference to the activities we can provide.”

KIDS Lincolnshire - which was charity of the year for Branston’s Lincoln site in 2017 - invited Branston staff to a KIDS Strut creative play session at the North Hykeham Youth Centre. The team took part in a variety of activities, such as a giant parachute game, that are regularly organised by the charity before presenting the cheque for more than £19,000.

John Griffin, general manager at Branston’s Lincoln site, said “We were proud to have KIDS Lincolnshire as our site’s charity of the year in 2017. Their activities provide local children with some much-needed opportunities for fun, learning and adventure. Our team’s activities raised a fantastic £12,950.40 and Branston added 50% on top of this to bring it to a total of £19,425.60.

“Our team has been taking part in a variety of activities throughout 2017 and have wholly committed to raising as much money as possible for the charity, including a 100 mile cycle ride across the Lincolnshire Wolds in September involving Branston staff, suppliers and customers. We all look forward to seeing the positive benefit that the money raised will bring to young people in the county.”