Member Article

Allied Irish Bank (GB) announces £1000 support for local charities

Allied Irish Bank (GB) has donated £1,000 to charities in South East to support communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The South East Business Centre headed by Area Director Emma Lane, has made donations to three charities across the South East - Whitehawk Foodbank, The Clocktower Sanctuary and Ringwood Foodbank.

The donations were made through AIB Group’s initiative ‘AIB Together’ which has been created to help support local communities by raising much needed funds for charities who are central to the management of the pandemic. The bank’s staff across the UK have set a target of raising €1m, with the Group agreeing to match all funds raised to support local charities who are working hard to support the most vulnerable at this difficult time.

Emma Lane, Area Director for the South East, said: “I am really proud to be part of the bank’s ‘AIB Together’ initiative which is helping us to show our support and recognition of the important work carried out by local charities. Now more than ever their work is vital to help people in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

We wanted to lend a helping hand to our local communities and will continue to fundraise for these charities in coming months. We are delighted to support the fantastic work carried out by Ringwood Foodbank, Whitehawk Foodbank and The Clocktower Sanctuary. Both Whitehawk Foodbank and Ringwood Foodbank have seen demand increase during the pandemic, with the Whitehawk Foodbank confirming demand has quadrupled over the last month, as the impacts of Covid-19 force many of the local community into crisis. The excellent work of the team at The Clock Tower Sanctuary is also essential in supporting 16-25 year olds who are homeless or insecurely housed. Throughout this crisis dedicated Support Coordinators have provided practical and emotional to young people who had nowhere else to turn. They supported 186 young people last year and anticipate a rise in number this year as job losses due to Covid-19 and pressure on families drive relationships to breaking point.“

Allied Irish Bank (GB)’s South East team is also supporting business customers through the financial pressures of the pandemic. The bank is an accredited lender of the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) to provide term loans and is also arranging payment holidays for customers, overdraft extensions, working capital facilities, relaxed covenant terms, loans and overdrafts.

Emma Lane continued: “We are very conscious of the pressures that our business customers are under and are proud to support our customers and the local economy as best we can. We have been proactively reaching out to them to offer the best tailored support possible to alleviate their financial concerns. As the situation evolves, we can assure customers that we will remain flexible in our response and continually review our services as necessary, always putting their needs and safety at the forefront of our thinking.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Allied Irish Bank (GB) .