12 charities based in London have won a £1,000 Christmas gift thanks to nominations from the public.
The charities were nominated to win a share of £120,000 as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.
The Royal Mencap Society, which supports children and adults with a learning disability across the UK, and Sarcoidosis UK, which exists to fund research into a cure for sarcoidosis and to inform and support anyone affected by the rare disease (see notes for full list1), are among the local charities set to benefit from the money following overwhelming public support in the area.
13,854 London residents nominated a cause close to their hearts, with 384 charitable causes in the area receiving votes. The 120 winning charities across the UK were picked at random from those nominated.
The full list of the 120 charity winners is available to view online at www.movementforgood.com/12days
Thanking supporters in London, Mark Hews, Group CEO at Ecclesiastical, said: “Owned by a charity, here at Ecclesiastical our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, so charitable giving is at the heart of our business. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better. We hope these donations can bring a positive end to a difficult year and a promising start to 2021.”
A representative from Sarcoidosis UK said: “The incredible £1,000 donation from Ecclesiastical will make a real difference to the work we do. Sarcoidosis is a rare and often-misunderstood disease that does not receive sufficient attention from pharmaceutical companies or medical researchers, therefore research into sarcoidosis is limited. We are going to keep going until we have found a cure for sarcoidosis, and help change the lives of those living with the disease along the way. As a result, all of the money from the £1,000 donation will be committed to our 2021 research project and could help improve the lives of people all over the world.”
A representative from The Royal Mencap Society said: “The wonderful donation will go a long way in funding our services such as our supported living homes, employment services, leisure activities and more. The pandemic has been hard on our charity and has had such an impact, the £1,000 will help us to better support people with a learning disability and continue to provide the vital services across the UK – thank you.”
