Local Businesses Find Innovative Way To Support Staff Well-being While Helping A Local Charity

Online, August 2, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Brown McFarlane Ltd, Stoke, who are one of the world's leading specialist steel plate distributors, processors, and traders, will be offering its employees gym membership at
M Club Spa and Fitness and in return, £10 from each membership fee will be donated to the hospice.

The Department of Work and Pensions November 2011 independent review into sickness absence in the UK shows an estimated 140 million working days lost per year in Great Britain due to staff sickness.

In difficult economic times, businesses can ill afford to lose man hours to sickness. In addition, charitable giving by companies is being hard hit at the present time and charities and businesses need to work together to come up creative ways in which to raise money.

John Riddell, Managing Director of Brown McFarlane Stoke said: "Brown McFarlane are committed to promoting a healthy workforce and we want to thank Mo Chaudry of M Club for taking up our suggestion to donate part of our staff membership fees to The Donna Louise Children's Hospice. We have been supporting the Hospice for some time now and this innovative partnership with M Club means that we can increase that support for this worthwhile local cause."

M Club Spa and Fitness, based at Festival Heights, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waterworld, one of the Leading Leisure businesses in the UK, are offering Brown McFarlane discounted membership for their staff team, with the discount of £10 per membership per month being donated to The Donna Louise Children's Hospice. With 30 memberships, this amounts to £300 a month being donated to the Hospice.

Mo Chaudry, Chairman of the Waterworld Group and M Club Spa and Fitness said: "M Club Spa and Fitness operates as a Social Enterprise and a not for profit organisation. Our ethos is to promote health and fitness in the Community and to help good causes. Both Brown McFarlane and M Club Spa and Fitness have a history of supporting local charitable causes and there is none more deserving than The Donna Louise Children's Hospice, our charity caring for life threatened children from Staffordshire and South Cheshire. I hope other local businesses are inspired to take up this unique initiative, to not only look after the well-being of their workforce but to donate a proportion of the Membership fees to a Charitable local cause."

Melanie Mills, Director of Fundraising & PR for the charity said: "This is a fantastic example of local businesses working together to support their local children's hospice. We know only too well how difficult fundraising is in the current climate, and we are committed to working closely with local businesses to find innovative ways to help us raise the £2.4 million we need to run the hospice this year.

"We hope that more businesses will follow the lead set by Brown McFarlane and M Club Spa and Fitness and work together for the benefit of their local children's hospice."

For more information on The Donna Louise Children's Hospice, and how your company can get involved, go to www.donnalouisetrust.org

More information on Brown McFarlane Ltd and M Club Spa and Fitness can be found at www.brownmac.com and www.mclubspaandfitness.co.uk

ENDS

Caption:
Big cheers from, left to right, Melanie Mills, Director of Fundraising and PR for The Donna Louise Children's Hospice, Mo Chaudry, Chairman of the Waterworld Group and M Club Spa and Fitness, Mark Hamilton, Group Operations Manager for Brown McFarlane Stoke, and John Riddell, Managing Director of Brown McFarlane Stoke

Notes
Due to the sensitive nature of The Donna Louise Children's Hospice's care services it refrains from using the words 'terminal' 'terminally ill' 'death' or 'dying' in its press releases preferring to use the words 'life-limited or life-threatened' instead. The Donna Louise Children's Hospice requests that you kindly respect this in your press coverage. Thank you.

The Donna Louise Children's Hospice Trust provides a range of specialist care and support services for children with a shortened life expectancy and their families. We support children and their families with the challenges that having a life-threatening condition can often bring. Services may be provided in the family home or the hospice or a combination of both depending on the family's and child's preference.

We provide care for children between the ages of 0 -19 years from Staffordshire and South Cheshire. Currently the Trust cares for more than 140 children from South Cheshire and Staffordshire. Care and support is free of charge to children and families, and the charity needs to raise £2.4 million a year to run its services.