A trio of South West charities are set to benefit from the fundraising efforts of Stephens Scown.
Following a firm-wide vote among our people, we will support Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), Exeter Foodbank and Cornish charity Invictus Trust, with two years of fundraising and volunteering.
Verity Slater, deputy head of Cornwall, leads on the firm’s corporate social responsibility. She said: “The South West is renowned for its spectacular coastlines and prime surfing conditions, so making sure that everyone is able to enjoy Cornwall and Devon without the blight of plastic pollution is a cause close to many colleague’s hearts.
“Hugo Tagholm from SAS came into our Truro office last year to talk to us about the work of the charity and we were so inspired colleagues from both counties have already been organising beach cleans. We’re fired up to raise funds and give our time to help the charity achieve its goals.”
Praising the new partnership, Hugo Tagholm said:
“Surfers Against Sewage are delighted to be chosen as charity partner by Stephens Scown . It’s very exciting that we have been chosen by such a progressive law firm in the South West, and we look forward to working with them over the next two years.”
We have also chosen two more regional charities to support. In Devon the firm’s charity will be Exeter Foodbank, which helps people who are referred to it in a crisis, providing three days worth of nutritionally balanced emergency food. Established during the economic crisis of the late 2000’s, the Exeter Foodbank is supported by a network of over 100 volunteers.
In Cornwall, the Invictus Trust will be the firm’s chosen charity for the next two years. The charity is focused on supporting young people with poor mental health in the county. It is also an active campaigner for better mental support services in Cornwall. We have signed up to the Mindful Employer Charter and support our staff with free counselling sessions, so Invictus was a natural choice for a new charity partnership.
We raised a total of over £10,600 for our previous partner charities – Alzheimer’s Research UK, Cornwall Air Ambulance and FORCE Cancer Charity.
New Giving Back policies at Stephens Scown, introduced last year, mean that colleagues can take three days annual leave to volunteer for charities or causes close to their hearts, over and above their annual leave. Our solicitors are also able to undertake pro-bono work for worthy causes and provide valuable advice and legal services to charitable organisations which otherwise may not be able to afford it.