23 Sep 2021
Staff at NIE Networks have raised £27,000 for their nominated Charity of the Year, PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland.
Even in the face of a pandemic, employees at NIE Networks were not deterred in raising much needed funds for PIPS Charity and instead got creative with their fundraising ideas including, sponsored head shaving and waxing, raffles, charity walks, moustache growing, children’s colouring competitions and virtual Christmas jumper days.
Employees also went one step further and added to the total each month through dedicated payroll giving donations.
PIPS Charity is a grass roots, community-led organisation, which delivers suicide prevention and bereavement support services, counselling and therapies to individuals who are considering or have considered ending their own lives, as well as family and friends that have been affected by suicide.
Paula Leathem, Senior HR Business Partner at NIE Networks, said: “Our teams have always been dedicated to raising funds for charity and doing everything they can to support local causes. Through financial donations and volunteering, our employees have donated tens of thousands of pounds to local charities over the years.
“There are strong synergies between our company focus on mental health and wellbeing and the work of PIPS Charity, and I am proud that our staff chose to support such an invaluable organisation as their charity partner last year.”
Renée Quinn, Executive Director at PIPS Charity, added: “The fundraising by NIE Networks has been vitally important to PIPS Charity, particularly as our traditional methods of fundraising have been adversely affected due to the pandemic.
“The demand for our services continues to increase and without sufficient funding we would be unable meet that demand. To have the support of the NIE Networks staff over the last year has helped us drive the important and life-saving work that we carry out in communities across Northern Ireland.”
In response to increased demand for their services, PIPS Charity has recently opened two new regional hubs in Enniskillen and Derry~Londonderry. The centres provide not only suicide prevention and bereavement support services but also help with addiction, self-harm, anxiety, domestic violence and child resilience, among other key areas.