Santander staff pick Age UK as charity partner
Published on 19 January 2016 02:30 PM
Age UK and Barnardo's have won a staff vote to become Santander's charity partners for the next three years.
The joint partnership will see Age UK and Barnardo's benefit from a combined fundraising and grant programme, which aims to provide funding of up to £1.5 million for each charity.
The charities have been chosen as part of Santander's new flagship community programme, ‘The discovery project', to help support the most vulnerable people in society. Santander will work with Age UK and Barnardo's in a collaborative partnership to support people in early and later life.
Ambitions for Later Life
With the funds raised, Age UK will develop a new initiative to support older people in gaining insight and knowledge to prepare for the future called Ambitions for later life.
The programme will see one-on-one sessions with older people take place providing support such as helping to prepare for retirement or finding out how to live independently at home for as long as possible.
Funds raised will also help Age UK provide vital companionship, advice and support to thousands of older people, a key lifeline for so many.
Volunteering opportunities for Santander staff
Santander's staff will also have opportunities to volunteer for the charities, for example through Age UK's national telephone friendship service, Call in Time, which matches corporate volunteers with lonely or isolated older people and through supporting Barnardo's UK-wide network of charity shops.
Tom Wright, Chief Executive of Age UK, said: 'We're delighted to have been chosen alongside Barnardo's as one of Santander's charity beneficiaries for the next three years.
'This partnership will allow us to launch an exciting new programme that will give older people support at crucial moments in later life, and help thousands more by providing guidance and help when it's needed the most. We're looking forward to working with Barnardo's and Santander on this fantastic partnership.'
Nathan Bostock, CEO, Santander UK, said: 'Our purpose is to help people and businesses prosper, and we recognise that in a rapidly changing world for many the pace of change can be difficult to navigate.'
'The Discovery Project has been created to help people make the most of the incredible opportunities society has to offer. We are very excited about the potential for our partnership with Age UK and Barnardo's to help some of the most vulnerable people in our communities succeed for the future.'