Warwickshire News Mine

The money is being raised through a scheme that enables the county council’s staff and pensioners to donate the ‘spare’ pennies from their payslips or pensions.

Around £9,000, including gift aid, has been raised for the hospices since staff were first invited to donate in October last year, and with more staff and pensioners joining the scheme every month the donations are set to grow and grow.

‘Pennies from Heaven’ is a national scheme that has been adopted by the county council. It invites employees and pensioners to round down their monthly salary or pension to the nearest pound and donate the pennies left over to the hospices, which were the two nominated charities chosen by a county council staff and union group.

The Myton Hospices and Mary Ann Evans Hospice provide specialised care for people with life limiting illnesses. The Mary Ann Evans Hospice is an independent, purpose-built day hospice situated in the grounds of the George Eliot Hospital. It was established in 1990 to provide day care to residents whose GPs are based in the boroughs of Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire.

The Myton Hospices opened their first inpatient unit in Warwick in 1982 and remain the only inpatient unit within Coventry and Warwickshire. They now also run Day Hospices and Hospice at Home services both from their original site in Warwick and their purpose built day hospice in Rugby which opened in 2002.

The Myton Hospices and the Mary Ann Evans Hospice in Nuneaton are receiving an equal share of the amount donated. They are able to gift aid the donations, adding 28 pence to every pound staff and pensioners contribute.
The pennies soon add up and the funds donated to the hospices by Warwickshire County Council employees and pensioners so far will be enough to buy, for example, a new pressure relieving mattress for one of the Myton Hospice’s beds or more than 60 sessions of Hospice at Home care at the Mary Ann Evans Hospice.

All of Warwickshire County Council’s 18,000 staff and its pensioners have been encouraged to pledge their pennies and sign up to the scheme.

Janet Griffin, Fundraising Manager for the Mary Ann Evans Hospice, said: “Pennies from Heaven is a wonderful fundraising project for the Mary Ann Evans Hospice.

“A few pennies donated every month by the individual employee, when added together will make a huge difference to the provision of hospice care. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all staff involved and stress that every penny counts.”

Anita Burrows, Community Fundraiser from Myton Hospice, said: “We were delighted when the staff at Warwickshire County Council nominated us to be one of their chosen charities for the Pennies from Heaven Appeal.
“To receive over £4,500 is a real boost for us all at Myton, and one which will make a real difference to the lives of our patients. Our work depends on the generous support of the people of Warwickshire and this appeal just goes to show how easy it is to give a little but help a lot.”

Martyn Thompson, Deputy Head of Human Resources at Warwickshire County Council, said: “It is encouraging to see an increasing number of staff contributing to these worthwhile charities. We have been surprised by how much we can raise by pledging our payroll pennies that overall makes a real difference."

Anthony Law, Managing Director of Pennies from Heaven, said: “It is clear that the generosity of staff and pensioners at Warwickshire County Council is making a real difference and just another example how effective this simple scheme is. We encourage all large employers in the county to consider Pennies from Heaven as a simple but truly effective way to raise funds for the sector.”

Link to WCC