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Paragon Banking Group makes £100,000 donation to tackle coronavirus impact

The Solihull-headquartered financial services company has split the donation between the NHS, Solihull Change into Action, Age UK and the company’s 2020 charity, Macmillan.

Nigel Terrington, Paragon Banking Group Chief Executive, said:

“Coronavirus is impacting on all of our lives and we hope this donation will help make a difference to some of the charities that are doing fantastic work in these difficult circumstances.”

Here is some detail of how the donation is helping the specific charities:

NHS

The donation to the NHS will go towards helping frontline staff who need accommodation and food whilst they care for patients, as well as electronic devices to enable isolated patients to keep in contact with family and friends.

The donation has been made directly to the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity (UHBC), which raises funds for the Good Hope, Heartlands, Queen Elizabeth and Solihull hospitals in the city.

Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising at UHBC, said: “On behalf of the 20,000 members of staff across University Hospitals Birmingham I would like to thank Paragon for this incredibly generous donation to help us in the fight against coronavirus.

“Since the outbreak of the pandemic we have been working hard to make a challenging situation easier for our staff and patients. From providing food and drink to our hardworking NHS Superheroes, to purchasing tablets, radios and activity packs to keep our patients entertained, we are determined to go ‘over and above’ for everyone at UHB. Paragon’s generous donation will allow us to do so much more to support our staff and patients over the coming weeks and months. Thank you.”

Solihull Change into Action

Solihull Change into Action supports specialist organisations and outreach services working to change the circumstances of rough sleepers and those at risk of becoming rough sleepers.

Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Stronger and Safer Communities Cllr Alison Rolf said: “Although Solihull has very few people who regularly sleep rough, we have people who are homeless and who are at risk of sleeping rough. The Coronavirus pandemic has made the situation worse for many people and so I would like to thank Paragon for this very generous donation which will help many people to rebuild their lives.

“Change into Action will put this to good use supporting local homeless people back into the community and helping to ensure that they can move into permanent accommodation. We are working with services in Solihull to ensure the funding meets existing local needs and are open to new ideas too. While thanking Paragon, I’d also like to ask for more people to get involved and help us to change lives.”

Age UK

Age UK is helping elderly people who are isolated and alone during this period. Many do not have enough to eat and are missing basic supplies and the charity is working to ensure vulnerable people have the support they require. Paragon has made the donation to the Solihull arm of the charity.

Lorraine Hart, Fundraising Manager at Age UK Solihull, said: "We are so grateful to Paragon for this very generous donation. As we have had to close our charity shops and cancel many of our fundraising events and activities, we are relying on our local community to support us with funding in these awful times. Paragon's donation will help us to continue to support older vulnerable and isolated people in Solihull in these challenging circumstances".

During the Coronavirus crisis, Age UK Solihull is now operating a food bank, delivering around 500 packages a week. Our befriending and information and advice services are both now telephone based, and we have volunteers helping with shopping and collecting prescriptions for older people who are self-isolating.

Macmillan

Macmillan is Paragon’s chosen company charity for 2020 and has a key role supporting cancer patients and their families during the uncertainties they are facing due to coronavirus. For many cancer patients, treatment plans have been reviewed, and particularly vulnerable patients are having to self-isolate.

As well as Paragon’s direct donation to Macmillan, Paragon employees are supporting the charity via payroll donations and other fundraising efforts.