CBRE extends partnership with Action for Children for a third year and pledges to raise £1 million by 2020
CBRE has achieved its initial two-year fundraising target of £500,000 for Action for Children, a UK charity committed to helping vulnerable children, young people, and their families, in just 14 months. In the wake of this achievement, the global real estate advisor has now extended the UK-wide partnership for a third year and has set a new target to reach £1,000,000 by 2020. The target will be made up of employee fundraising, corporate donations and pro bono value on behalf of the charity.
High levels of employee engagement have cemented the success of the partnership. Teams across the UK have rallied together to take part in rowing challenges, treks, marathons, sleep outs, quiz nights and bake sales to raise money. In addition to fundraising, staff have also volunteered 965 hours to support Action for Children service and events.
The funds raised so far by CBRE have enabled Action for Children to hire two of six planned transition workers in the UK who will work directly with young people transitioning from foster care into independent living. These specialist workers will provide essential, practical and emotional support to stop young adults leaving care from slipping into homelessness, unemployment or other difficult challenges.
Funds have also allowed the charity, with the help of CBRE’s digital team, to develop a digital toolkit for children in care, so they can receive support whenever they need it. 'The Big Welcome', has been so well received that TACT, the UK's largest fostering and adoption charity, has also adopted the tool and Action for Children is now looking to approach other fostering services who could benefit from this.
The partnership has allowed CBRE to become one of the first businesses in the UK to sign up to the Governments ‘Care Leavers Covenant’ which asks public, private and voluntary sector organizations to support young people leaving care.
It’s been amazing to see our teams rally together to donate their time and money to support over 700 young people and their foster carers. It’s a powerful example of how the property sector can make a huge difference in the lives of young people and their families across the UK. We are delighted to have now extended our partnership with Action for Children and are committed to achieving our ambitious new fundraising target.
We are so pleased that with the amazing support from CBRE we have been able to start providing essential support to young people who desperately need our help. The extension of this partnership will enable us to reach more young people, and we look forward to continuing our fantastic partnership with CBRE colleagues and clients up and down the country.