NFU Mutual Agents and their staff at the local South West Lakes agency are delighted to have nominated local charity St Mary’s Hospice, to receive a donation of more than £3000 from a national £1m ‘Agency Giving Fund’ launched by NFU Mutual’s Head Office.
In light of the national emergency this country is facing, NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, has allocated £1m to help local frontline charities at this difficult time.
To help ensure this support reaches all corners of the UK, NFU Mutual has reached out to its Appointed Representative network of local Agents. Consisting of circa 300 independent Agency businesses and 9 NFU Mutual Branches, each have been given the opportunity to nominate a handful of local charities to receive a share of this fund.
This donation will allow St Mary’s Hospice to respond to the growing need for their services. St Mary’s are providing 24/7 care in people’s homes, helping to protect their NHS colleagues, as well as providing in-patient care for people living with advancing illness and needing care at the end of life. The Hospice’s advanced nurse practitioners are taking their experience into Furness General Hospital to support teams there, while their nurse educators have been training staff from local mental health teams in case they need to provide end of life care during this period. The bereavement support team is increasingly busy, providing support by phone and online for people who are bereaved, isolated and distressed by the impact of these difficult times.
Ronnie Neale, Agent for the NFU Mutual in Ulverston, said: “The Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on everybody, including our customers and their local communities. St Mary’s Hospice is making a wonderful difference to our community in these challenging times, and we are proud to have been able to nominate this local charity to benefit from NFU Mutual’s national fund.”
Clare Paling, St Mary’s Hospice Area Fundraiser, said: “We are very grateful to NFU Mutual South West Lakes for nominating St Mary’s Hospice to receive a donation from the NFU Mutual Agency Giving Fund. This kind donation will allow us to keep doing what we do best, serving our community at the most difficult or times, only more of it, finding even more ways to work in partnerships and ensuring those with advancing illness are treated with respect. Our income generation activities have been adversely affected by the pandemic – we relyon the good will and generosity of our supporters, and this donation has come at an essential time.”