Cadbury Foundation donates £30,000 to Midlands charities

Seven charities from across the Midlands have been chosen by employees at Mondel?z International sites throughout the region, to receive a donation of up to £5,000.

Guide Dogs in Birmingham, Molly Olly 's Wishes in Warwick, Scope4SEN in Derbyshire, Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide and Friends of Herefordshire Alzheimer's & Dementia Sufferers has each been granted £5,000 from The Cadbury Foundation, whilst Birmingham-based Kingfisher Foodbank and St Anne 's Hostel have each received £2,500.

The Cadbury Foundation was set up in 1935 in recognition of Richard and George Cadbury and has since donated over £95,000 to local charities as part of the 'Your Charity Your Choice ' campaign.

Each year, the campaign invites Mondel?z employees to nominate charities or projects close to their hearts, with the final shortlisted charities voted for by the wider work force.

Shortlisted this year was Molly Olly 's Wishes (pictured), a small charity supporting children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families.

Georgia Evans, an operator at the Bournville-based factory, nominated the charity which will use the donation to grant individual wishes and provide therapeutic toys and books to children and to hospitals across the UK.

Michelle Darragh, assistant visitor services manager at Cadbury World, received support from her colleagues in her nomination of Guide Dogs for the significant donation, with the team seeing the support and life-changing work of the charity first-hand.

Colleagues at the Bournville-based site also chose the charity Scope4SEN to receive a further £5,000 grant, which provides free telescopes and other astronomy tools and materials for special educational needs schools and hospitals throughout the country.

PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide) has received a donation towards their work in reducing the number of young people who take their own life by breaking down the stigma around suicide and equipping people with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.

Mondel?z International 's Marlbrook-based employees also chose Friends of Herefordshire Alzheimer's & Dementia Sufferers, a charity providing support to people affected by dementia and Alzheimer's, as well as campaigns for change, funds and research to help find a cure.

A further £5,000 grant was split between Kingfisher Foodbank and St Anne 's Hostel after a voting tiebreak. The Cadbury Foundation 's donation will contribute towards distributing food and essential items to those in need across the West Midlands region.

Meanwhile, for St Anne 's Hostel, the grant will partly fund a patio area for social events for its residents when Covid-19 restrictions lift.

Kelly Farrell, community affairs manager at Mondel?z International, said: “We 're extremely proud to be able to support the charities and projects that are important to our people through our 'Your Charity Your Choice ' scheme. We 're delighted to know that with The Cadbury Foundation 's help, all of the charities can continue to provide invaluable support to local people in need. ”