Local charities to benefit from £8,000 fundraising drive
West Midlands law firm, Sydney Mitchell has donated to two local charities – one helping those facing severe and end of life dementia and the other a peer-led, 24/7 Mental Health support line.
Sydney Mitchell, which has offices across Birmingham and has been serving the West Midlands for over 260 years, held a ‘Meet and Greet’ the charities event earlier this week to present the funds raised over the last 12 months to their chosen charities.
Cheques totalling £8,000 were presented to Brandon Scott-Omenka, CEO of The Solihull Carers Trust, who provide support to carers (old and young) in Solihull; and to Suzanne Alderson, founder of Parenting Mental Health, who provide support to parents whose children have significant mental health issues.
Karen Moores, senior partner, Sydney Mitchell said: “Thank you to everyone for supporting and participating in our fundraising events and activities over the past year. We are planning many more future events, but we are pleased to present today £4,000 each to Solihull Carers Trust and Parenting Mental Health.”
Brandon Scott-Omenka, CEO of the Solihull Carers Trust and Suzanne Alderson, founder of Parenting Mental Health, gave an update on the great work that the charities are doing and thanked Sydney Mitchell for their fundraising.
Brandon explained that the funds would be utilised to provide much-needed respite for carers who are caring for a spouse, family member or friend facing end-of-life and severe dementia.
Many of these carers have not had a break for several years, and the funds will help alleviate the stresses and give them a much-needed rest. Carers Trust supports 4,800 active carers in the Solihull area.
In addition, the money will be used to provide vouchers for younger carers to provide a treat just for them.
Suzanne Alderson and Nikki Neale added that the team at Parenting Mental Health will use the funds to help keep their ‘Peer to Peer’ support community operational; this support costs around £20 per hour to keep on line 24 hours a day. The charity supports over 42,000 parents around the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year.
Pictured (L-R): Pauline Manby, Brandon Scott-Omenka (CEO) (Carers Trust Solihull), Karen Moores (senior partner, Sydney Mitchell) Nikki Neale (CEO), and Suzanne Alderson (Parenting Mental Health)
