After four successful years of fundraising, we’ve now come to the end of our corporate charity partnership with Marie Curie, an incredible cause that provides care and support for people living with terminal illness and their families.

Since 2019, colleagues and customers across Riverside have raised a staggering £83,602.10 for Marie Curie, all thanks to hard work and support with bake sales, sweepstakes, garden parties, clothes donations and other fundraising efforts.

Including our Portfolio Officer Suzanne Leonard who took on a trek to Nepal in 2020 in memory of her mum and, as a business we donated £25,000 in December 2020 when colleagues couldn’t meet up to celebrate Christmas due to Covid restrictions.

Our relationship with the cause was marked last month with a visit to the Marie Curie’s Woolton Hospice – as it all began back in June 2019.

Joining Chief Executive Carol Matthews were courageous colleagues who recently took on the challenging survival trek of five days and four nights walking across the Borneo jungle, immersing themselves in culture and learning a lot about themselves and each other – to raise over an outstanding £33,000 for Marie Curie.

During the hospice visit, colleagues were given a tour, getting the opportunity to view the essential facilities and services that fundraising such as ours help to fund. We were shown various treatment and therapy areas, outpatient wellbeing spaces, the onsite restaurant and beautiful garden areas, and heard about current research they’re undertaking with hospice patients into palliative care and how they’ve brought back therapy pets to really cheer up patients post-Covid!

Kirstine Clark, Policy and Strategy Advisor at Riverside, said:

“We are immensely proud of our achievements and know the money will be well used to make a difference to many people in their latter stages of life. The monies raised by Riverside colleagues for Marie Curie will make sure we can be there for as many people with terminal illness as possible.

“As little as £20 can fund an hour of expert care and emotional support for someone living with a terminal illness, in the comfort of their own home from a Marie Curie nurse or healthcare assistants while £41 kits out a Marie Curie Nurse so that they’re ready to face anything with a smile and the sense of pride that their uniform brings.

“We encourage other organisations to please consider supporting this amazing cause to help make a difference to the lives of individuals in our communities.”

Jen Corrigan, Marie Curie’s Community Fundraiser Merseyside, said:

“It really is an incredible achievement and I really hope Riverside and all employees are extremely proud of themselves.

“We can’t thank you enough for your support and for fundraising for Marie Curie and I only wish I’d gotten to work with you all earlier as everyone has been so lovely so thank you all for that.”

People and their homes are at the centre of what Riverside does; working to transform lives and revitalise neighbourhoods through building homes, connecting people to the appropriate support, and renewing neighbourhoods to ensure everyone has access to good housing.

Marie Curie also appreciates the value of home and the pivotal role it can play in people’s lives. It is a place where people spend a lot of time, make a lot of memories and often feel most comfortable.

This is why Riverside are proud to have supported the charity over these past few years and want to say a massive well done to all our colleagues who have got involved.

Looking for a career that means more? Where you can make a difference to the lives of people in our communities? Check out our vacancies at www.riverside.org.uk/about-us/jobs-and-careers/ #EnhancingTheEveryday