The 4Com Foundation Christmas Round-Up

This year has been very different to normal, but we have been pleased to support a number of local charities who need our help most at Christmas.

Each year the 4Com Foundation provides help in the form of volunteers and donations, as well as providing a range of items, including food and toys, to assist with Christmas campaigns run by local organisations. Dean Cartledge, Head of the 4Com Foundation, said, “As always, charities depend on the generosity of others and we are delighted to be able to help over the festive period.”

The 4Com Foundation has once again partnered with Amelia’s Rainbow for their Christmas Toy Appeal. The aim of the appeal is to safely deliver tailor-made Santa sacks full of presents to children across Dorset living with terminal, life-limiting and chronic illnesses, and their siblings. This year we asked our staff to kindly make salary donations in place of toys to minimise contact and make the process as safe as possible. Along with a generous contribution from the 4Com Foundation, we have donated over £7,000 to this year’s appeal!

Amelia’s Rainbow staff and volunteers have also used the 4Com office as a central hub to sort and pack toys for hundreds of children. 4Com staff have helped plan delivery routes and will assist with the all-important Santa sack doorstep drop-offs, ensuring the children receive their presents in time for Christmas.

In addition to the Toy Appeal, this year we have provided almost 300 Christmas Food Hampers for three local charities: Bournemouth Foodbank, Salisbury Foodbank, and Christchurch Angels. The hampers are given to the elderly living alone, families and individuals experiencing hardship over the festive period. 4Com staff volunteered by making a small, socially-distanced ‘production line’ to pack up the parcels with Christmas treats such as mince pies, fruit cake, biscuits and chutney, all ready for distribution in the local area!

Our colleague, Chris, plays a key role in the coordination of the hampers and said, “A massive thanks to all who have helped in making the packing of 285 food parcels a success! They will now be given out to those who need them most.”

We have also provided festive treats to the children at Linwood School as part of our ongoing support of the charity Wessex Variety. A total of 164 selection boxes and 16 sticker books were donated by the 4Com Foundation to the charity, who work with schools in the local area where the children have special needs and many are underprivileged.

Lucy, a Telemarketing Manager at 4Com, said, “Each year we would normally provide help to Wessex Variety by volunteering at their Christmas parties. Throughout the year they hold days out with several schools where we also volunteer, but obviously this hasn’t been able to happen.”

Sadly, another charity we work closely with, Mosaic, had to cancel their annual Christmas party. The Mosaic team work extremely hard to support bereaved children which has been an incredibly difficult task amid the pandemic. In place of their Christmas party, usually paid for by the 4Com Foundation, we have funded craft bags for 150 children instead! The bags will be delivered to the children in reusable tote bags and contain several different crafting activities to keep them busy and entertained during the festive period. Laura Stanley from Mosaic said, “On behalf of all of us at Mosaic-Supporting Bereaved Children I would like to send our thanks to all the team at the 4Com Foundation for your incredible generosity in helping us provide Christmas presents for all the children we are currently working with.”

Charity work is a central theme to everything we do here at 4Com, with well over £250,000 donated to local and national charities since 2014. Over the course of the year, the 4Com Foundation has continued to make charitable donations, as well as funding much-needed equipment for several NHS Trusts to help during the Covid-19 pandemic.