A record £1m was raised for Parkinson’s UK through a charity of the year initiative by financial service provider Credit Suisse UK.
The initiative sees employees raising funds for a chosen charity throughout the year and this year’s £1m milestone figure is the highest amount raised by Credit Suisse employees since the introduction of the fundraising scheme in 2002.
Parkinson’s UK was chosen by the organisation thanks to an employee’s family connection to the neurological condition.
Steve Ford, Parkinson’s UK chief executive, said, "We were absolutely thrilled and honoured to be voted the Credit Suisse UK Charity of the Year 2014. To learn that they have raised such an incredible amount for their chosen charity for the first time is something Parkinson’s UK is incredibly proud of.
"Credit Suisse’s sterling efforts have resulted in the total funding of a crucial research study in Newcastle, headed up by our new clinical director Professor David Burn. The research will help scientists understand how and why dementia develops in people living with Parkinson’s.”
Over 12 charities have partnered with Credit Suisse since the scheme’s launch 12 years ago. Employee fundraising efforts have raised a total of £7m for charity throughout that period. Staff members have raised funds through challenges such as the London to Paris Enduro Challenge, The Banger Rally (which this year included a team from Parkinson’s UK driving to Paris in a specially rebranded car), and a London to Zurich cycle challenge.
Garrett Curran, chief executive of Credit Suisse in the UK and Ireland said: “The UK Charity of the Year partnership is something that every employee can become involved in. We’re delighted to have achieved this milestone fundraising sum. Employees drove, cycled, ran, swum, baked, sung, danced, paddled and abseiled to achieve this phenomenal target of £1m – and some even went so far as to be rescued from the freezing waters of Canary Wharf by Newfoundland dogs to support the effort!”
Around 127,000 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease in the UK.
