Bank staff raise £43,000 for Macmillan

Employees at Solihull-headquartered Paragon Banking Group have raised more than £43,000 for the company 's chosen charity for 2020, Macmillan Cancer Support.

Staff at the financial services firm embarked on fundraising efforts throughout the year to raise a total of £43,835, including 'Paragon 's Biggest Coffee Morning ', 'Sober October ' and 'Move for Macmillan '. 'Move for Macmillan ', which encouraged employees to walk, run or cycle up to 100km during May, alone saw employees raise over £18,000 for the charity.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions and with most employees working from home, virtual events were held, with some socially distanced events taking part in offices where possible.

Jennie Smith, chair of the Charity Committee at Paragon, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people getting involved throughout the year, whether virtually or in a socially distanced setting. We 're really glad that we are able to support such an important cause that impacts so many people. ”

Craig Stewart, relationship fundraising manager at Macmillan, said: “The pandemic has had a significant impact on our ability to fundraise and the income we have been able to secure to help support people living with cancer. This is why we are so grateful to Paragon for all it 's done to raise such an amazing amount of money. At Macmillan, we give people with cancer everything we 've got and thanks to Paragon, we can continue to do that. ”

Macmillan Cancer Support was Paragon 's chosen company charity for 2020 and has a key role supporting patients and their families emotionally, physically and financially with the impact of cancer.

Employees have selected Alzheimer 's Society as Paragon 's charity of the year for 2021.

Pictured: Employees at Paragon taking part in a charity challenge as part of fundraising efforts