The Sure Community Foundation, the charitable enterprise of the telecoms company Sure, has donated £27,000 to local causes across Sure locations since the start of coronavirus pandemic.
Sure is committed to being part of island life and the Foundation, which is run purely by Sure staff across the organisation, has been working hard to increase its support to help those that need it most during this difficult time. Since the outbreak, Sure staff across the seven territories increased their donations and raised £12,700 which Sure matched pound for pound to help the Foundation further its support to the community.
The Foundation, which launched in the Isle of Man this year, has already provided support to multiple local charities including the Isle of Man Foodbank. The Foodbank prioritised food supplies to those in the community who have been most affected by the coronavirus due to vulnerability and inability to leave home. The Foundation was pleased to donate £500 to help the charity continue the great work they provide for the local community.
Utilising Sure’s expertise, the Foundation provided the charities Live at Home and Southern Befrienders with access to Sure’s on-demand voice conference service. Both Manx registered charities serve older residents in the community and the donation of a conference call facility helped to combat the feeling of isolation for members who were unable to have visitors. Further support from the Foundation allowed its members to continue social events through their landlines.
The Foundation provided the local hospice with SIM cards and credit for their tablet devices to help volunteers and nurses while they are out in the community helping patients who were unable to see family or friends. Local charity Singing Jo & Co was also provided with a phone to enable the charity to continue its singing, dancing, rhyme and drama sessions that promote linguistic, cognitive, emotional, creative and physical skills and fitness for babies and toddlers.
Service has dramatically increased for the charity Crossroads while the Isle of Man has been in lockdown. It has provided services to local carers for over 30 years, offering support to carers and people with care needs no matter their disability, age, or illness. To support the cause the Foundation donated six mobile phones with credit for the new care support workers to help deliver services at patients’ homes.
CEO at Crossroads, Jackie Betteridge said: “On behalf of Crossroads I would like to thank the Sure Community Foundation for their support. The mobile phones they have provided will help us to ensure the safety of our care support workers who are delivering home care services in the community and allow them to provide essential support. The past few months have been difficult for
local charities, including ourselves, so we are extremely grateful to the Foundation for their support and generosity at this time.”
Mike Phillips, chief executive of Sure in the Isle of Man, said: “Everyone involved with the Foundation has been working incredibly hard and this can be seen by the number of charities we have been able to help in this short amount of time. Although our support is often small, we hope our help has contributed to our island and reminds people that they are not alone. We continue to seek for charities to help so get in touch with us if you too would like support.”
If you would like to get in touch with us about a charitable or community project, please email CommunityFoundation@sure.com or visit our website for more information: https://www.sure.com/Isleofman/about-us/in-the-community/