Dains bring Christmas cheer to vulnerable families in Birmingham

In keeping with the festive season of goodwill, employees at Dains chartered accountants and business advisers typically look for a community charity to rally behind. This year, staff at Dains Fort Dunlop office chose to support Home Start, the Winson Green, Handsworth and Sandwell based charity that works with vulnerable families who are marginalised by poverty. Dains staff have rallied together over the last few months to donate basic foods to make up much needed food parcels to be distributed to families in the local area.

Dains were approached by Home Start in the summer to see if they would consider supporting the charity. The charity operates through a network of trained volunteers to support parents who are struggling to cope. Many of these families are experiencing crisis situations in their lives, including: domestic violence, severe financial hardship, debt, drug and alcohol related problems, depression, isolation, poor housing and disability. Staff signed a commitment to provide an item of food weekly for 11 weeks leading up to December. They also ‘donated a treat’ to add to the basics to help ensure that the children enjoy their festivities this year.

Representatives from ‘Dains in the Community’ - the corporate social responsibility team within the firm, Nigel Chilvers and Lynne Gorman recently presented Home Start with the food parcels, Nigel said: “We are delighted to be involved with such a worthwhile charity and we hope that our food parcels will be well received by many local families.

“We will continue to support Home Start and the valuable work they do within our community in 2011 and have already set up donation boxes in the office for staff wishing to donate unwanted clothes, books and toys to the support centre charity shop in West Bromwich.”

Wendy Millichap, Scheme Manager from Home Start said: “Thank you to everyone at Dains for the generous donations which will provide some of the basic food necessities which many of us so often take for granted. We will now ensure that everything that’s donated to us goes directly to deserving families.”