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Derbion announces new charity partners

Derby’s leading retail and leisure destination, Derbion, has announced three new charity partners as part of its ‘Derbion Cares’ initiative.

YMCA Derbyshire, RSPCA Derby & District and Safe and Sound have been selected as the Derbion Cares charity partners for 2022, following the launch of the initiative earlier this year.

Set up by Derbion colleagues Derbion Cares was launched in January to support local charities with fundraising, volunteering and free event or activity space in-centre.

Over 39 local charities applied for support, and the selected organisations were chosen by a committee made up of staff from the centre. As part of the initiative, all Derbion colleagues have been offered two additional days of paid volunteering time, to support the charities.

Each of the new charity partners plays an integral role in supporting the community of Derby, with YMCA Derbyshire providing young people with accommodation and training and education opportunities, RSPCA Derby offering unparalleled support for abandoned, injured and unwanted animals, as well as raising awareness of how animals can positively impact mental health, and Safe and Sound protecting children and young people from child exploitation.

Adam Tamsett, general manager at Derbion, commented: “We were overwhelmed with the response to our new Derbion Cares initiative. We know how incredibly hard it has been for the region’s charities over the past couple of years, and we wanted to help as many as we could.

“With Derbion sitting in the heart of the city, our Derbion Cares Committee were keen to support organisations that are focused on tackling some of the key issues facing our community. The three selected charities are all organisations that we believe we can help to make an even bigger impact over the year ahead.”

Catherine White, fundraising manager at YMCA Derbyshire, said: “We’re over the moon to be one of the Derbion’s chosen charities. Working together will provide so many opportunities for the young people and community members that we support. It means the world to our YMCA to have been selected and we can’t wait to see what a difference our charity and Derbion can make together.”

Penny Lockwood, branch manager at RSPCA Derby & District, commented: “Being selected as a Derbion Cares charity partner is an exciting opportunity and will make a huge difference to our profile and fundraising this year, particularly as we celebrate our 150-year anniversary.

“For two years, we have been severely impacted by the pandemic as our fundraising activities, educational events, and volunteering programme have had to be put on hold. Being a small independent charity, we rely on direct in-person connection with the communities and businesses in our area, so the support of Derbion will be a huge boost for us and will help raise vital awareness for our charity.”

Tracy Harrison, CEO of Safe and Sound, said: “By choosing to support an organisation focused on child exploitation, Derbion has shown that the wellbeing of young people and their families is at the core of their operations.

“We are grateful not only for the pledge of financial support – which will enable us to protect more people from child exploitation – but also for the offer of facilities which will support us in raising awareness of the online and in-person dangers facing vulnerable young people, such as sexual, drugs criminality, modern slavery and radicalisation.”

To find out more about Derbion Cares, please visit www.derbion.com/derbion-cares/.