Trust Corporation International has donated a total of £22,500 to local charities and causes throughout 2018 – its 15th anniversary year.
The most recent beneficiary of a donation was the Guernsey Mobility Let’s Go initiative. The weekly lunchtime session takes place at Beau Sejour with the aim of providing physical exercise and activity for disabled islanders.
This term, the group users were joined by year five students from St Martin’s Primary School every Tuesday afternoon to encourage inclusivity and awareness of disabilities. The lunchtime gatherings were created as an experiment, inspired by the Channel 4 programme “Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds”, where children spent time in a nursing home for the elderly.
To mark the final session of the term, Trust Corporation provided a buffet lunch for the children, staff and group users to enjoy. The head teacher of St Martin’s School, Kate Mason, came along to the final session of the term because of the positive feedback she had received.
Paul Wheatley, Activity Coach for Guernsey Mobility, said: “The children have completely surpassed expectations and were excited to contribute to the local community but have gone above and beyond. During half term, some children came in on their own merit to continue to take part and see the group users. Some youngsters have even built a grandparent-like relationship and that is really special to see. The lunch was the perfect way to celebrate a great term and it’s clear that the initiative is going from strength-to-strength.”
Katie Wallen, Senior Operations Manager at Trust Corporation, commented: “It has been an honour to be involved with Guernsey Mobility Let’s Go. To see how the children respond to the group users – seeing what their strengths are and not their disabilities – is fantastic and exactly what this initiative aimed to achieve. Trust Corporation wanted to say thank you to all of the staff that have made it possible, so were happy to donate a buffet lunch that everyone could enjoy.”
Following the success of this term, St Martin’s School plans to continue the participation of a year five class every term.
Other donations made by Trust Corporation throughout 2018 included taking part in a ’15 in 15’ initiative in which 15 charities, nominated by staff, were selected for support to mark the independent trust company’s 15th anniversary. Those benefitting included the Ivy Trust, Headway Guernsey, Guernsey Animal Aid, Caritas and Creative Learning in Prison.
Mort Mirghavameddin, Chief Executive of Trust Corporation, said: “Our exceptional people truly differentiate us and I’m pleased to see that their desire to go above-and-beyond and make a difference extends to charities and causes they felt passionate about.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to hear why the 15 charities to benefit from our ‘15 in 15’ initiative were nominated by staff and we were happy to support so many causes to celebrate our 15th year. Further support for charities, like providing the lunch for the Let’s Go Mobility users and helping with the Christmas lunch for Le Rondin School, cap a great year of community involvement for our dedicated team.”
