Helping others at Christmas time

Staff at a Bury St Edmunds based housebuilder have raised money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) by wearing their most festive Christmas jumpers to the office.

Bloor Eastern, which takes care of Bloor Homes’ developments across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, has raised £80 for EACH on Monday.

The team at the office on Skyliner Way raised money by holding collections on the day and digging deep for the worthy cause.

Monika Hanlon, Bloor Eastern sales director, said: “As soon as we saw the work that EACH does in the area, we knew that we wanted to support them this Christmas. They are a fantastic charity who tirelessly care for unwell children and their families.

“Our team had a fantastic day donning their most colourful Christmas jumpers and putting their spare change to the best possible use by donating it to EACH.

“Our fundraising for the charity doesn’t stop there as we are also using our Eastern Head Office as a collection point for EACH charity shops.

“We all have items around the house that would be better placed in a new home, so we’ve been asking staff to bring those items into the office and we will arrange for them to be taken to an EACH charity shop.”

EACH is particularly looking for good quality clothing, bric-a-brac and toys, modern paperbacks, CDs and DVDs, and jewellery to be donated.

Gemma Smith, EACH Suffolk Fundraiser, said: “We’d like to extend our thanks to Bloor Eastern for choosing to support us this Christmas. EACH cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across East Anglia and supports their families. We rely on voluntary donations for the majority of our funding so all the money raised will go towards providing this vital service.

“We are asking anyone who has any good quality items that they no longer need to take them to their local EACH charity shop. Retail is a very lucrative income stream for EACH so by donating your unwanted items you will be supporting the care that EACH provides.”