Donaldson Group

Food banks across the UK have been severely impacted by COVID-19. They have seen a 47% increase in usage since March and are facing an overwhelming demand for support. Operational capacity is also strained as a result of restrictions, creating further challenges for foodbanks across the UK.

The Group will contribute £100 per site every week in December, totaling £10,000. A donation box has also been set up at every site for employees who wish to donate any additional items.

Andrew Donaldson, CEO of the JDS Group said: “2020 has been a tough year for everyone in many ways, and it has reminded us all of the importance of community and helping each other out in times of need. As a family business that operates UK wide, we want to help in our local communities where we can. The willingness of our employees to get involved in this initiative fills me with pride. All 32 of our sites has a foodbank local to it that we hope will benefit from our collective donations.”

You can find details of your local foodbank here.

James Donaldson and Sons is proud to announce the achievement of its fundraising target of £53,945 for its charity partner, Maggie’s. The Group embarked on the fundraising campaign in June 2019 with a target to raise £50,000 and expected it to span twelve to eighteen months, but as a result of the teamwork and engagement from all employees it has exceeded the target just nine months into the campaign.

Employees from all 31 sites across the UK have all done their bit to raise £28,945 which was match-funded by James Donaldson and Sons up to £25,000 bringing the total to £53,945. The group worked closely with Maggie’s centres around the UK to develop and execute a calendar of fundraising events and activities including; cultural crawls, bake sales, raffles, race nights and cycles, among many others.

Scott Cairns, Outgoing Group Managing Director of James Donaldson Group said: “I am incredibly proud of all JDS colleagues in delivering this fantastic figure for Maggie’s. The challenge was grasped head-on, and our teams had a great deal of fun and a good feeling of achievement while raising funds. I’d also like to say a huge thanks to many of our customers and suppliers who also made donations to help us achieve our ambitious target.”

Tu Edwards, Centre Fundraising Manager, Maggie’s Fife commented: “Without the support of businesses like James Donaldson and Sons, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do here at Maggie’s. Maggie’s is here to support people with Cancer, along with their family and friends and relies on donations to develop our high-quality programme of support.  At this difficult time we are no longer seeing people face to face, but we are supporting people in their homes by phone, email and our online community.  I can’t thank James Donaldson Group enough for their support and efforts throughout this partnership; it will make a huge difference to our centres nationally.”

In the current COVID-19 global pandemic, it is a timely reminder that people are still dealing with Cancer and other life-altering conditions. All of our fund-raising efforts were done in 2019 and early 2020, before the current crisis and we hope to be able to continue to support Maggie’s in the year ahead when conditions allow.

James Donaldson & Sons has announced today, Wednesday 26th June its charity partnership with Maggie’s, due to span over the next twelve to eighteen months.

Maggie’s is a charity offering free practical and emotional support for people with cancer and their family and friends through support centres built in the grounds of NHS hospitals. Support is offered to anyone that needs it. Maggie’s relies on voluntary donations to support and grow its network of Centres and to develop its unique, high-quality programme of support. The charity aims to make the most significant difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends.

James Donaldson and Sons have pledged to match funds up to £25,000, raised by employees across their 30 sites for the charity, setting themselves an ambitious goal of raising £50, 000 in total over the next twelve to eighteen months. The group will be working closely with Maggie’s to develop a calendar of fundraising events and activities to engage with its over 800 employees throughout the UK.

Scott Cairns, Group Managing Director at James Donaldson & Sons comments, “Every year we regularly support charitable causes at both site and business level, but we were keen to put our weight behind one charity that would be meaningful to us all. Maggie’s initial network of centres marries in well with our own locations. This makes our support of the charity local to our businesses ‘nationwide’ while supporting the local community as Maggie’s supports us.

We look forward to working closely with Maggie’s over the coming months; we are encouraging our employees to get involved in supporting this fantastic cause wherever they can.”

Maralyn Boyle, Partnerships Manager Scotland, said: “I am delighted James Donaldson and Sons have chosen us as their charity partner.  We rely almost entirely on voluntary donations to support 280,000 visits from people living with cancer at our 22 centres across the UK, so we are incredibly grateful to everyone at James Donaldson and Sons for choosing us and we are greatly looking forward to working with them over the course of the coming year.”

The fundraising campaign will launch at James Donaldson and Sons’ sites locally throughout June.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jdsandmaggies