Ipswich Building Society has donated more than £6,000 to nine Suffolk based charities from its Mutual Advantage affinity saving accounts programme.

The local charity partners of the society’s nine branches each received a 1% bonus based on the average account balance of all Mutual Advantage accounts opened at their partner branch.

The society’s Mutual Advantage account is a variable rate savings account which currently pays 0.75% Gross/AER for balances from £100 - £50,000.

The society reviews the beneficiary partners each year, enabling funding to be spread across a wide variety of charities in Suffolk.

These charities received support in the last year:

Aldeburgh - Aldeburgh United Charities

Hadleigh - The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding

Halesworth - Halesworth Volunteer Centre

Haverhill - REACH

Ipswich (Mutual House) - Ipswich Housing Action Group

Ipswich (Ravenswood) - 4YP

Saxmundham - Supported Activities for Everyone (SAFE)

Sudbury - The Smile of Arran Trust

Woodbridge - Home Start

The Sudbury branch beneficiary partner, The Smile of Arran Trust, received a bonus of £1,645. The charity was launched as a tribute to the late Arran, a 13-year-old who died a week after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. His mum, dad and sisters created the charity to help other families whose lives have been affected by a brain tumour.

Alison Tosh, Arran’s mother and the co-founder of The Smile of Arran Trust said: “We’re delighted with the support we have received from the Sudbury branch of Ipswich Building Society and, of course, the members who hold a Mutual Advantage account. It is an amazing amount of money which will really help us provide financial assistance to children and families who have been affected by a brain tumour.

“Not only have the staff at the Society chosen to support us for a further year, they have also gone the extra mile in helping us raise awareness, promote events and raise money through ticket and wristband sales.”