Lloyds raises £5.5 million for Children in Need

Lloyds Banking Group's successful partnership with Children in Need has yet again helped them raise a record breaking amount, with this years total being £5.5 million for the campaign.

BBC Children in Need’s Principal Partner

In 2014, we became BBC Children in Need’s first ever Principal Partner, taking on an exclusive role as their school fundraising partner until the start of 2017. As first ever Principal Partner to BBC Children in Need, we are proud to have yet again contributed a record-breaking amount to the charity appeal.

With over £5.5 million being raised by colleagues and customers so far in 2016, almost one million pounds more than at this point last year, we have broken our own fundraising record of raising the most ever by a corporate partner of BBC Children in Need in a single year. Combined with last year’s total, Group colleagues and customers have now raised over £11.2 million for the charity in just two years, supporting our ambition to help Britain prosper through its commitment to supporting communities through fundraising and volunteering. The money is helping BBC Children in Need to fund over 300 projects and support over 39,000 disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

£50,000 could fund a three year project for homeless young people, preparing them for independent living.

£110,000 could fund a support worker for three years in a refuge for children.

Coming together

Our colleagues and customers have been fundraising all year round for the iconic charity, raising at the time of the Appeal, over £5.5 million.  This is almost one million pounds more than the Group had raised by this time last year. 

This year’s fundraising activities have included Ready Teddy Bake, where 3,000 colleagues across the country joined forces to bake over 5,000 cakes, cup-cakes, pastries and buns to support the charity bake sale. Colleagues raised over £110,000 through the Pudsey themed cake sales.

The exhaustive efforts of sixty colleagues who completed the Tour de Pudsey challenge helped to raise over £275,000. Three groups of twenty riders departed from London, Edinburgh and Cardiff and cycled over 300 miles in all weathers in just three and a half days to arrive all together in the town of Pudsey. The finish line of Pudsey was chosen for two reasons: it is the town after which the iconic mascot was named, being the hometown of Pudsey’s designer, and it is home to one of Lloyds Banking Group’s Regional Offices and Call Centres for Appeal Night.

Branches and offices across the UK have also been participating in fun runs, dress up days and many other fundraising initiatives throughout the year.

Colleagues have also made significant volunteering contributions to BBC Children in Need, with over 420 supporting local schools to go Spotacular. Colleagues also volunteered more than 8,500 volunteer hours to process millions of pounds during the Appeal Night telethon on Friday 18 November. With 730 telephone lines pledged and over 1,700 volunteers working in six call centres, the Group was the largest provider of telephone lines to the charity for the second year running.

The British public has also got behind the Group’s support of BBC Children in Need this year, buying over 40,000 limited edition Pudsey Moneyboxes available exclusively in Lloyds Bank and, for the first time this year, Bank of Scotland branches. Costing just £5, every penny of the purchase price has gone directly to the charity, raising more than £200,000 so far.

£175 could pay for transport to fun activities for 15 young carers during the holidays.

£100 could provide a bereavement counselling programme to support a child.

The Big Spotacular

This year’s schools fundraising campaign, ‘The Big Spotacular’ with Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland has seen thousands of schools, as well as iconic landmarks across the UK, going spotty for BBC Children in Need. Children and teachers have been dressing in spots, selling spotty cakes and goods, and taking part in spotty themed challenges to raise money, with over 17,000 fundraising support packs downloaded. To celebrate the fantastic fundraising efforts of schools taking part in the Big Spotacular campaign, Pudsey also visited 20 schools nationwide as part of the Pudsey Schools Roadshow. All of this Spotacular activity in nearly 16,000 schools is expected to raise at least £5 million this year.

“We thank all of the staff and customers of Lloyds Banking Group. Having them as Principal Partner is helping us to change the lives of many more disadvantaged children and young people across the UK” - Jonathan Rigby, Director of Marketing and Fundraising, BBC Children in Need

Leading full and independent lives

The money raised each year by BBC Children in Need provides grants to projects all over the UK, focusing on children and young people who are disadvantaged.

One example of the fantastic projects the Charity funds is the Foyle Down’s Syndrome Trust which supports children with Down Syndrome to live full, independent and productive lives.

When 4-year-old Ella was born with Down’s Syndrome four years ago, her mum didn’t know what to expect. But after months of hospital appointments and two bouts of surgery on Ella’s heart and windpipe, she’s now running around in high spirits.

Foyle Trust Development Worker Christopher, whose role is funded by BBC Children in Need, supports Ella in play, forming friendships and much more. Christopher alongside other families that Ella and her family have met through the Northern Ireland based trust, are enabling her to flourish and reach her full potential.

Watch Ella’s story here.

Helping communities prosper

Through our high street brands, we’re an integral part of communities across Britain. We support them through our core products and services, but we want to do even more because when local business, people and their communities prosper, so do we.

Our support of BBC Children in Need and for our own four foundations, form part of our Helping Britain Prosper Plan where we have made a number of public commitments including colleague volunteering and support for community organisations.

We are committed to delivering over 2.3 million paid volunteering hours in support of community projects as well as helping 60,000 community organisations and schools by 2020.

Read more about how we're helping communities thrive here.

“Lloyds Banking Group is committed to helping bring communities closer together as part of our ambition to help Britain prosper and our charity partnership is assisting in doing this, as well as making a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK” - Stuart Beaver, Director of Partnership & Community Programmes at Lloyds Banking Group

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