CHELTENHAM, 25 October 2002 - Zurich Cares in Cheltenham has been recognised for its commitment to the community as an awards finalist in the Cheltenham Business 'Contribution to the Community Award'.
Zurich Cares Cheltenham was set up in October 2000 as the employee charity fund. It enables staff to share their time, money and skills with the local community. In the past two years £130,000 has been raised which is being awarded to over 30 voluntary organisations in Gloucestershire. £90,000 has been committed to three new partners in Cheltenham - Cheltenham Community Projects, James Hopkins Trust and Winston's Wish.
In addition to this over 500 Zurich staff have participated in 162 one-off projects as part of the Zurich Challenge programme. Zurich staff have set up lunchtime reading and numeracy support in primary schools, 31 staff have volunteered as school Governors and Trustees, staff have also helped charities by sharing business skills through the Zurich Skillshares scheme and a volunteering scheme with the RNIB. Over 200 toys and gift vouchers were personally donated by employees at Christmas.
Chris Staples, community affairs director at Zurich Financial Services comments, "The Zurich Cares programme is designed to help disadvantaged people move from dependence to independence and as part of Zurich's commitment to volunteering, employees are entitled to one business day off a year to volunteer in the community. The involvement of our senior management has been an integral part of the programme's success and our plans to develop it to include more staff and reach out to more disadvantaged people in Cheltenham."
Notes to Editors:
- The Contribution to the Community Award is sponsored by Gloucestershire County Council.
- The Gloucestershire Echo and Citizen and Business Awards, in their fifth year now are supported by BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
Zurich Cares is the community arm of Zurich UK. It is the umbrella name for our employee and financial adviser programmes, and covers a wide range of community programmes designed to help disadvantaged people move from dependence to independence.
Zurich's Community Trust is the umbrella for all community involvement in the UK and is a registered charity funded by pre-tax profits and by donations from staff and financial advisers. It has two main strands: Zurich Cares Trust Programmes which target the most disadvantaged where we can make a significant impact with our level of contribution, and; Zurich Cares, for staff and financial advisers, where almost one third of the staff are involved in volunteering activities, contributing 20,000 hours annually.
Since 1972, more than £37 million has been donated to voluntary organisations in the UK and overseas. Nearly £5.1 million was donated in 2001 alone. The Zurich Trust has been recognised for its work, winning the Whitbread Volunteer Action 'Company of the Year' Award, the Insurance Times Community Initiative of the Year Award and receiving the Programme Impact Mark for its India Programme from Business in the Community. Visit our website on www.zurich.org.uk for more details.
Zurich Financial Services
The Zurich Financial Services Group is an insurance-based financial services provider that focuses its activities on its key markets of North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Founded in 1872, Zurich is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It has offices in approximately 60 countries and employs well over 70,000 people.
Zurich Financial Services, (UKISA) is part of the Zurich Financial Services Group and comprises the Group's operations in the UK, Ireland and International Businesses.
