Staff at North East law firm Hay & Kilner have found the perfect recipe to raise almost £6,000 for charity The People’s Kitchen.
Employees at the Newcastle-headquartered practice chose to adopt the city-based organisation, which has been supporting homeless and disadvantaged people in the Newcastle area since 1985, as their dedicated charity for 2017/18.
And at the end of 12 months of fundraising, a total of £5,711 has been donated to The People’s Kitchen at a special celebration lunch at the charity’s Bath Lane headquarters.
Regular fundraising activities held through the year have included cake bakes and dress down days, while paralegal Mairi Clancy raised almost £500 by running the Edinburgh Marathon and there was also a successful ‘Splat the Solicitor’ event at Gateshead Rugby Club’s Summer Fayre
A team of ten young solicitors and trainees successfully took on the famous Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge during the summer, completing a 25 mile route which went via the summits of Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.
Despite having to climb over 2,100m during the walk and even though the warm weather made it even tougher than usual, the team crossed the finish line comfortably within the allotted 12 hour time limit, raising another £900.
Hay & Kilner also organised a five-a-side Charity Shield football tournament involving 15 teams from Newcastle’s professional services firms, and is now hoping to hold the event on an annual basis.
The People’s Kitchen aims to provide friendship and food to anyone who needs support, and play a unique role in the city’s efforts to meet the needs of homeless and vulnerable people.
Its 200-strong team of volunteers cook and serve over 40,000 hot meals every year, while the charity also provides sleeping bags, blankets and warm clothes for people sleeping on Newcastle’s streets and works with a range of professional partners across the city to signpost service users towards drug, alcohol, health and well-being advice.
Sara Malik, chair of Hay & Kilner’s CSR committee, says: “The People’s Kitchen is the source of so much support, advice and care for people living in extremely challenging circumstances within our city, and it’s been an honour for us to be able to contribute to its invaluable work.
“Our initial aim was to raise around £4,500, so to reach nearly £6,000 is a fantastic achievement by all concerned and shows the value that our team places on the work of The People’s Kitchen.”
David Yellowley, trustee at The People’s Kitchen, adds: “We’re overawed by the fantastic efforts and the variety of events that helped the Hay & Kilner team to raise the huge total, and it great to see staff involved in arranging the tea party for the homeless.
“With no government funding, every penny donated is vital to maintain the services provided by The People’s Kitchen to vulnerable people in Newcastle.”
Hay & Kilner’s new dedicated charity will be announced in due course.
