Member Article

Staff honoured for generosity

Generous staff at a Stockton based business have been recognised for their charitable spirit and donations made through the company’s Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme.

The px group, which provides engineering, energy trading and operational expertise in the energy and process industry sectors, has been awarded the platinum quality mark by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) - the highest which can be given for organisations making payroll giving available to staff.

The company has held the gold CAF award since 2006 but after the platinum honour was introduced two years ago, px people have been working hard to achieve it. This involved fund raising by all staff to enable £24,187.44 to be given to dozens of charities by those enrolled on the scheme during 2013. This was matched by the business to make a grand GAYE total of £48,374.88.

And the giving didn’t stop there. A further £20,000 was donated by the company to the Lions Raw charity via the Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation (MTPF), of which px is a patron. This money was used to fund the building of the new £300,000 Cleveland Juniors FC club house.

Other MTPF causes that have been backed by px include the Cleveland Air Ambulance, Zoe’s Place hospice and two initiatives in support of px staff. Sponsorship for Operations Technician Paul Brown, 35, from Guisborough, meant he was able to compete in the European Triathlon Championships in Turkey. He was then part of Team GB at the World Championships in London and is now focusing his efforts on the next European championships in Austria.

While Paul Hensby – Commercial Co-ordinator - applied for funding in support of professional coaching for Josh Young, a friend’s son who is endeavouring to become a UK top ten badminton player.

Many other community projects, clubs and individuals have also gained advantage from the MTPF thanks to the ongoing support of px and the other generous patrons.

Tina Rowarth, who works in the px Human Resources Team, said: “Arranging and supporting events which raise money for worthy causes and for people less fortunate is great fun and builds a real sense of togetherness among our team.

“It is great to be recognised for the efforts but what matters most is that we can help change lives or create opportunities for others.”

CAF give as you earn is the most popular payroll giving scheme in Britain, helping over 3,000 companies and 400,000 staff to give nearly £80 million to over 160,000 registered UK charities and causes of their choice locally, nationally or internationally.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .