Great Annual Savings (GAS) colleagues have donated a total of £80,000 to local, North East charities from Give As You Earn (GAYE) funds.
After building up a substantial pot of GAYE contributions, GAS colleagues submitted a range of Charities they would like to support as part of recent campaign ‘A Christmas Wish – granting Christmas wishes in the community’ which will see 16 Charities receiving donations totaling £80,000.
One of the chosen charities was Red Sky foundation which raises vital funds to support life-saving work for babies, children and adults who are born with or develop heart conditions.
The £20,000 donation will be used to provide 10 defibrillators – one for every club Gary Pearson had an affiliation with.
Craig Shields, Group Operations Director at GAS, said: “As a team, we thought long and hard about what to do in memory of Gary. We decided to work with local charity, Red Sky Foundation, whose primary mission is to work with people and families who require cardiac care.
“Following Gary’s passing, we reached out to Sergio Petrucci, Founder of Red Sky Foundation, and it became clear that this would be a way for Gary to leave a legacy and help individuals who find themselves in a similar situation to his.
“Gary was not only a colleague, but a friend to many of us here at GAS. Several of us are involved in football outside of work including Gary who was a former teammate of mine.
“We spoke with 10 football clubs Gary had an affiliation with and in partnership with Red Sky Foundation, we are donating one defibrillator per club in Gary’s memory.
“Gary impacted many lives around him and in turn we felt it would be fitting for this donation to do the same.
“We hope this donation will impact and save lives in his memory.”
Sergio Petrucci, Founder of Red Sky Foundation said: “I’m absolutely thrilled employees from GAS have handpicked Red Sky Foundation to receive the most generous Christmas gift of £20,000.
“100% of this money will go towards keeping the memory of their colleague and friend of ours alive with a defibrillator campaign dedicated to Gary Pearson.
“It’s our expectation for this donation to save many other people’s lives in communities where Gary had a positive impact.”
This donation follows another recent significant contribution which funded a brand-new sensory garden for Haswell and District Mencap.
The development is now well underway, with completion expected in coming months, thanks to a donation of £20,000 from GAS.
Other charities set to benefit from the generosity of GAS colleagues include Great North Air Ambulance, Bright Red, Sunderland Carers, East Durham Veterans, Children’s Heart Foundation Unit, 4Louis, Parkside District and Community Association, Cardiac Risk in the Young, Little Lives UK, Wessex Heartbeat, Head For Change, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Solan Connor Fawcett Family Cancer Trust and Dawdon Youth and Community Centre. The diverse selection of charities will mean an impact is made on individuals of every age, from a range of backgrounds and circumstances.
