Staff at manufacturing giant Sony UK Technology Centre (UK TEC) have donated over 100 gifts for three local charities in the lead up to Christmas.
As part of its commitment to supporting the local community through charity work, staff at the Pencoed facility have been collecting gifts for Bridgend Foster Care, Calan DVS – a charity in Bridgend that support women and children effected by domestic abuse, and Llamau, who work to eradicate homelessness for young people and vulnerable women in Wales.
At the beginning of the festive period, a Christmas tree was erected in the factory and decorated with tags that contained the name of one of the three chosen charities for the gift collection initiative, along with the age and gender of the gift recipient.
On Wednesday, all members of staff who donated a gift were invited to a presentation event where all three charities would be in attendance to receive the donations.
As well as the gift collection, staff at Sony UK TEC have had a busy few months raising a total of £1,169 between the Pink Ribbon Foundation, Bobath Wales and the Movember Foundation.
The run up to Christmas saw staff take part in various fundraising activities including a bake sale, two ‘Wear It Pink’ days and ribbon sales in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. October also saw fundraising for Bobath Wales as the team took part in a ‘Green vs. Blue’ initiative where staff members supported the charity by wearing its signature colours. The money was raised in support of Cerebral Palsy Awareness month, with all funds going directly to children in the local area who are suffering with the condition.
November was spent fundraising for Testicular Cancer via the Movember Foundation, another charity that the Sony UK TEC wellbeing team are committed to supporting year on year. Donations were collected throughout the month and seven members of staff took part in a leg waxing spectacle.
The Sony team raised £477 in total for the Pink Ribbon Foundation, £160 for Bobath Wales and £532 for the Movember Foundation.
Bex Stones, from Calan DVS, said: “The gifts that have been so generously donated will make such a huge difference to our parents who are fleeing domestic abuse. Most of them have been financially controlled and isolated from family and friends so they have no money and nobody to turn to. The prospect of not being able to give their children a gift on Christmas is heart-breaking.
“We also have children come who want to give their mothers gifts so it’s really special that we can help them to do that. The work Sony has done with this initiative is absolutely amazing and we really can’t thank everyone who has donated enough.”
Angharad Howe, from Llamau, added: “These gifts will make such a massive difference, we have four refuges across the Caerphilly area and the women come to us at this time of year have absolutely nothing, so receiving these gifts will be such a pick-me-up.
“We are so thankful to Sony for their generosity. We depend on donations and fundraising for our women and this really will brighten Christmas for them.”
Gerald Kelly, Director of Professional Services at Sony UK TEC, said: “We are so proud of the effort put in by our team in aid of such fantastic charities. We have been able to give back to causes that many at Sony UK TEC hold close to their hearts.
“Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but for many people it can be the hardest time of year. We wanted to make sure that the most vulnerable people within our community received a little festive cheer and we were delighted to see the whole facility get involved in this initiative.
“We are also extremely happy that the money we have raised will go towards supporting the incredible work that these charities do. It has been a really enjoyable few weeks for all involved and we will continue our commitment to supporting these fantastic charities in the future.”
These are the latest charity initiatives for Sony UK TEC, which has also raised over £110,000 for the Children’s Ward at The Princess of Wales Hospital over the last six years.
