Welcome cash boost for popular local charity

A Crawley charity has received a Â£4,500 donation from Irwin Mitchell's Gatwick office, after staff at the firm spent a year raising funds. Crawley Open House was voted for by staff at the office to be their Charity of the Year for 2017 as part of a nationwide initiative established by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF).

The charity Crawlley Open House is Â£4,500 better off thanks to staff in Irwin Mitchell's Gatwick office

Following 12 months of fundraising activities, including a campaign to raise £20,000 in a month to celebrate IMCF’s 20th anniversary, nationally, Irwin Mitchell raised a record £180,000 during 2017.

The donation will help Crawley Open House continue to provide support and services for those suffering the effects of homelessness, unemployment or other forms of social exclusion.

Ian Wilkins, fundraising and relationships manager at Crawley Open House, said: “We are so grateful for the support of Irwin Mitchell, whose support of our events along with volunteering, advice and fundraising have been incredibly valuable to support homeless and vulnerable people across Crawley and Mid Sussex.

“We are especially grateful for this cheque for £4,500, which will pay for the costs of three rooms in our residential hostel for a year. “Whilst residents’ housing benefits subsidies the cost of the rooms, we need to find around £1,500 per room every year to keep them clean, comfortable and warm for our guests.”.

“Irwin Mitchell has been brilliant to work with and we are so grateful for its generosity, compassion and partnership.”

Faye Bargery, regional managing partner at Irwin Mitchell’s Gatwick office, said: “It’s an honour to be able to provide this record donation to a truly fantastic cause in our local community.

“Last year we celebrated 20 years of the IMCF and I am delighted that thanks to the creativity and generosity of Irwin Mitchell’s employees, we made our anniversary year a record breaking one.

“Everyone at Irwin Mitchell is passionate about giving back to the communities we operate in and making a real difference to the lives of those supported by our Charities of the Year.“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved last year. Hearing how Crawley Open House is going to use the donation, and the positive impact that will have on people in Sussex, is spurring on our staff to think of bigger and better ways to fundraise for this year’s good cause.”