Unicard News
Lending a helping hand to support our communities
Unicard staff choose local charities for their fundraising efforts
August 29th 2024 by Unicard

Staff at Unicard’s offices in the UK and Bulgaria have chosen local charities that they will support with fundraising events throughout the year.

Everyone working at Unicard has the option to use two working days for volunteering, and each office organises events where staff can help to raise money for our selected charities – for example, we held office events based around the summer’s Euros football tournament that raised hundreds of pounds.

Our Ferndown office’s chosen charity this year is Diverse Abilities, Dorset’s disability charity.

Diverse Abilities has been supporting children and adults with profound physical and learning disabilities across the county since 1955. Its work includes running a school for young children and teenagers who have disabilities and complex medical needs. It also provides adult services ranging from 24/7 supported living to physio and other activities.

Plamen Atanassov, Will Howard and Julieann Jones from Unicard met with Nick Mahony, Corporate Fundraiser for Diverse Abilities, to tour their Treehouse venue in the village of Hurn, near Bournemouth - a specialised facility designed for children and adults with physical and learning disabilities.

They saw the amazing outdoor activities available there, including trampolines, mini golf and a bouncy castle. They also visited the indoor centre, which boasts a large soft play area, a learning kitchen, a sensory room, a cinema room and a games room.

Julieann said: “It was fantastic to see first-hand the positive impact Diverse Abilities is making on the community.

“At Unicard, we believe in giving back to the community. Our commitment to sustainability and social responsibility drives our support for charities that align with our values. By working together with these organisations, we can create a lasting positive impact.”

Unicard staff at our East Kilbride office in Scotland are supporting Beatson Cancer Charity.

A cancer diagnosis is a traumatic and life-changing event, not just for the patient, but also for their family. Beatson Cancer Charity provides a comprehensive range of wellbeing and specialist services including complementary therapies, specialist health and work support and specialist activities delivered by charity staff and volunteers.

Cameron MacDonald from our East Kilbride office recently took part in the charity’s annual Off the Beatson Track fundraising event, completing a 10-kilometre walk around Glasgow.

At Unicard’s office in Varna, Bulgaria, our staff are supporting the charity I Believe and Help.

It has been running in Varna since 2015 and campaigns to collect plastic bottle and container caps for recycling, benefitting the environment. The money raised is used to buy medical equipment to help premature babies.

To date, the charity has collected over 320,000kg of plastic caps for recycling and donated 22 pieces of equipment, including an ambulance for children and a mobile blood donation point.

Unicard's CEO Sean Dickinson said: “We believe that a commitment to the principles of corporate social responsibility not only makes good business sense, but also complements our core business strategy.

“The charities that we choose to support every year are suggested by the whole Unicard team, and are chosen because of their connection to our local community and alignment with our corporate values.

“We believe the combination of monetary donations and human support through our Employee Volunteering Policy enables us to make the most positive impact in the local areas in which we operate.”