Pictured above: Hetal and Bhavesh Patel, of Pertemps People
Development Group, present the donation to fundraising officer Anne
Waller and nephrology consultant Graham Lipkin
Generous workers who staged a fundraising event in memory of a
well-known Birmingham pub landlord have handed over hundreds of
pounds to help kidney failure patients in the city.
Employees of Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) donated
£500 to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital renal unit after
organising a tribute to Antony Hickey who ran the Old Crown pub in
Digbeth.
Antony, who was a patient on the renal unit, died last year aged
just 48 from kidney failure. The funds raised from an evening of
Irish entertainment organised by Antony's friends and family at the
Old Crown will be spent on equipment to benefit other patients.
Phil Pemble, of Edgbaston-based employment experts PPDG, said:
"I met Antony about six years ago and was immediately struck by his
kind nature. Nothing was ever too much trouble for him and he
always had a passion for helping others.
"When he passed away we wanted to do something in his memory and
so together with his sisters who still run the pub, we organised a
bit of a do."
The event, a typical Irish night with a meal, raffle and
auction, was hosted by Phil and renowned Brummie historian
Professor Carl Chinn. Live music was provided by a PPDG employee
from Kidderminster and eight PPDG employees from Sunderland even
made the journey to demonstrate their support.
Phil added: "nothing was too much trouble for Antony. Kind,
family orientated and a very hard worker despite his illness, he
was a charitable man and is sorely missed so we were delighted to
be able to make the donation which included a generous contribution
from renowned Birmingham entrepreneur John James. "
Employees of PPDG - which has offices across Birmingham,
Coventry, Warwickshire and Staffordshire - have contributed
£140,000 into their own Give As You Earn (GAYE) fund since
its launch in 2004. In that time employees have supported around
320 charities and good causes. Two thirds of the company's
750-strong workforce currently participates in payroll giving and
it is they who decide where the money is donated by nominating a
diverse range of charitable causes.
GAYE has supported a variety of organisations including
charities, voluntary groups, schools, individuals, sports clubs and
environmental projects where nominators meet with recipients in
order to make the donation. In 2007, the business was recognised as
having the best overall payroll giving scheme in the UK based on
the number of local charities and community groups it supports. The
company regularly holds fundraising events and match-funds
employees who undertake challenges for charity as part of its
community support programme.
PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits,
confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview
preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In
partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus,
PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training
initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods
Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000
job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the
company since the projects began. It has trained 130,000
people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have
benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance
services.