Crestbridge staff support brings Christmas cheer to JFCA

Thursday 24 December 2015

Staff at financial services firm Crestbridge in Jersey has raised in excess of £34,000 for their chosen charity, the Jersey Foster Carers Association (JFCA).

In particular, the fundraising efforts have helped fund the JFCA‘s welcome packs for new foster children, which provide them with the ‘essentials’ to help them settle into their new foster homes, an initiative that helped the JFCA win the major Medium Charity of the Year Award at the Jersey Charity Awards 2015.

The amount raised for the JFCA by Crestbridge was earned through a variety of fundraising events held by the firm, including raffles, sweepstakes, and cake and bacon roll sales.

In addition, following a similar initiative last year, employees at the firm have also volunteered their time to organise Christmas parties for children looked after by the JFCA, where they received presents delivered by Santa Claus and a team of Crestbridge ‘elves’.

As part of Crestbridge’s commitment to engaging with the local community, the 130 staff at the firm’s headquarters in Jersey nominates a local charity to support each year. For 2014 and 2015, employees selected to support the JFCA, the local charity which assists with looking after foster children in the island and aims to raise the profile of fostering in Jersey.

Crestbridge’s support has also seen the firm provide administration and business support to the JFCA in order to help it gain a more stable footing and to establish a new identity. As well as assisting the JFCA in creating a new brand and logo which will help drive their purpose forward, Crestbridge also provided advice to the charity to create a new business plan.

Ann Le Rendu, JFCA Chairperson, said: “It’s been a period of real change for the JFCA over the past two years, and we owe a great deal of our success to the support that the staff at Crestbridge have given us.  Not only have they raised a significant amount of money for our organisation, but they have also given us the knowledge and expertise we needed to make our services more sustainable.  It’s also fantastic that the children have received Christmas presents at the parties the team has organised, something that has really brought smiles to their faces.”

Commenting on the fundraising initiative, Graeme McArthur, CEO, Crestbridge, said: “This has been one of our most successful charity collaborations and it’s extremely pleasing to see that the efforts of our staff have helped make the JFCA sustainable for years to come. The JFCA is such a valuable charity and I’m delighted that through a combination of fundraising and offering high level business support, Crestbridge staff has played a part in helping to put it on a sound footing for the future.”