COVID-19: Boehringer Ingelheim UK donates to vulnerable children and local emergency fund
Find out how colleagues in the UK are helping disadvantaged young people in isolation, and supporting charities in the community
The Children’s Society is one of Boehringer Ingelheim UK’s national charity partners – offering vital support to disadvantaged children. The charity has launched an emergency appeal in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, aiming to provide additional support to the thousands of children whose lives have been disrupted.
This involves stepping up their efforts to ensure the most vulnerable children are kept safe, particularly those at risk of abuse, exploitation, neglect or going hungry. This crisis has trapped many vulnerable children at home, hidden from view and from vital support.
There are also 600,000 socially isolated young carers in this country. They usually bear the weight of the whole family’s needs on their shoulders. Right now, the pressure has been amplified. They are without the support system of school, their friends and youth groups and are struggling with the practicalities of providing food and medicine for their loved ones. It’s crucial at this time that young carers and other vulnerable children have support from a trusted professional who can check on their well-being and help keep them safe. This is what The Children’s Society seeks to provide.
UK Managing Director, Uday Bose, commented: “Boehringer Ingelheim’s contribution will help provide over 100 hours of support to the most isolated children in the country. We are incredibly honoured to be able to help in this way.”
Boehringer Ingelheim UK has made £10k available to the Berkshire Community Foundation (BCF) in addition to the ongoing programme to support local communities.
The donation had been planned for later in the year but given the circumstances and the immediate need, colleagues decided to repurpose this £10k grant and release it to be used for an immediate Coronavirus appeal, which will be delivered under the BCF’s ‘Vital for Berkshire’ campaign umbrella.
Uday Bose explained how the donation will help: “COVID-19 is a major global crisis impacting individual families and communities on a local level. Small, regional charities and community groups are worried about the impact of Coronavirus on their work, and the communities in which they serve. Our donation will be used to help these small local charities respond to the emerging needs of this crisis. It will provide vital funds to help them increase efforts of support to the elderly and the most disadvantaged families, who may be disproportionally affected by the virus outbreak.”
Jon Yates, Chief Operating Officer from Berkshire Community Foundation, added: “The willingness of organisations such as Boehringer Ingelheim to support the community at a time when they themselves are dealing with change and uncertainty is the epitome of corporate social responsibility.”