DM Hall will now support Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and SAMH until December 2021
One of Scotland’s largest chartered surveyors has extended its partnership with two leading charities in a bid to soften the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
DM Hall’s agreements with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) were due to expire in December, but will now run for an extra 12 months to the end of 2021.
The additional year of support is expected to see thousands of pounds more raised for both charities through fundraising by DM Hall staff from its 26 offices in Scotland.
Eric Curran, managing partner at the firm, explained that the decision was made to extend the agreement after it became obvious that the lockdown was disproportionately affecting charities when compared to the private sector.
“We have all suffered due to the lockdown, but whereas, as a firm, we are experiencing a return to something like pre-lockdown trading volumes, Scotland’s charity sector is still struggling to come to terms with the new reality,” he said.
“As a result, we have decided to continue to support SAMH and Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland which, in the 14 or 15 months until March this year, resulted in our raising a total of £18,000 for both charities.
“We have invited our colleagues to sign up for the SAMH Virtual stomp, while they will also have the opportunity to do a fundraising Virtual Kiltwalk later in the summer. The charities will work jointly on a programme for the coming months and funds will be split.”
SAMH, which provides over 60 mental health support services across Scotland, welcomed the extension.
Fiona Lewis, corporate partnerships manager, said: “All of us at SAMH are delighted by the extension of our partnership with DM Hall, which will fund crucial mental health support for people across Scotland. We want to say a huge thank you for stepping up to support Scotland’s mental health during these challenging times.”
Gillian Green, assistant director of fundraising for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, said: “We are so thankful to DM Hall for extending the charity funding initiative for another year. This means we can continue to provide specialised support to people who really need our help.
“Over the past few months, we have seen demand for our services double as more people in Scotland than ever before are in desperate need of our services. This extension will allow us to reach people when they need us most and support them to live their lives to the full.”
