Carillion's £20k kick starts partnership

Hospice UK champions and supports the work of more than 200 hospices across the UK and over the next two years, Wolverhampton-headquartered Carillion will be supporting hospices all over the UK.

Carillion project and office locations will be teaming up with the hospice most local to them to hold fundraising events as well as volunteering and skills match activities.

For Carillion's head office in Wolverhampton, this means working with nearby Compton Hospice, who joined in with a 'Going Yellow' event at Carillion's Salop Street office to launch the partnership.

Carillion's initial £20,000 is being used to fund an 'Influencing Locally' toolkit produced by Hospice UK to help hospices identify and build relationships locally, raise awareness and influence key statutory bodies and decision makers in their community to make sure hospice care is on their agenda. This is essential for service delivery and funding.

Launching the partnership, Carillion chief executive Richard Howson said: "Hospices across the UK provide a vital service to their local communities and have touched the lives of many people at Carillion whose family members, friends and colleagues have needed their care and support.

"Carillion has a long history of working with charities and I'm sure that this will be a really successful partnership which will help hospices to continue to provide their essential care."

Tracey Bleakley, chief executive at Hospice UK, said: "Working with Carillion is an amazing opportunity and one that we could not be more grateful for, or more excited about launching."

"Hospices deliver a wide range of care and support to people with terminal and life-limiting illnesses, and their families. This can be delivered at in-patient units but hospices also take their expertise into people's homes and local communities. Through fundraising, volunteering and skill-sharing this partnership will mean so much to hospice care and the families that hospices support during difficult times."