​ellenor benefits from part of £844,182 raised by BlackRock

City-based asset management company BlackRock has raised £844,182 for ellenor and four other children’s hospices in London as part of the consortium, Children’s Hospices across London (CHaL), in its most successful charity collaboration to date.

BlackRock launched its charity partnership with CHaL in September 2014. Initially set to run for 12 months, the partnership was extended to December 2015. The £844,182 raised exceeds the £500,000 target and engaged more than 300 BlackRock employees in volunteering.

The partnership saw staff put on a number of fundraising events such as the BlackRock Rowathon, a five-a-side football tournament at Leyton Orient and the ‘Trial by Trivia’ City-wide quiz. They also organised their own challenges such as a Mount Kilimanjaro trek and a cycle ride from Venice to Rome.

Many staff members from BlackRock also took part in the ‘Final Hour Appeal’, where they simply donated an hour of their salary and this alone raised £33,000.

Staff were also encouraged to support the partnership by using their two company-sponsored charity days to volunteer and some helped out at the ellenor Christmas and Easter parties, as well as at Friday Fun Club and Family Drop-ins.

Kelley Emes, an Executive Assistant at BlackRock was one team member who volunteered with ellenor. She says: “I was quite apprehensive at first. I knew I’d be interacting with children and families and just didn’t know what to expect. Luckily for me, all the staff were extremely welcoming and put me at ease. Chatting to parents and helping run games for the children was a wonderful experience. I got to learn a lot about hospice care in a friendly and relaxed environment.”

Simon McClure, Director at BlackRock and a key member of the CHaL charity of the year committee, along with his wife Karen, is a long-time supporter of ellenor. They live near Tunbridge Wells and helped to spread the word about the launch of ellenor’s Philanthropy Circle and also assisted in making the charity’s first Orange Ball such a success.

“I was delighted that BlackRock chose to make CHaL its chosen charity and that part of the money raised would be going to ellenor – a charity both Karen and myself support,” he says. “The care and support which ellenor gives families in the comfort of their own homes is invaluable and it’s fantastic that the partnership was such a success.”

Adds Rachel Holweger, Fundraising Director at ellenor: “We are extremely grateful to the team at BlackRock for raising such a fabulous amount of money. As a charity, reliant on our community for funding we need more partnerships like this one - what they’ve done for ellenor is amazing.”

She continues: “This partnership proved how well we can support larger corporates with their CSR objectives, volunteering opportunities and fundraising. Many people living in our catchment area work in the City, so we need them to take note and encourage their businesses to get involved.”