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Foundation News

Sheffield gets into the spirit of giving with new campaign

26th October 2012

SHEFFIELD GIVES, a new campaign to promote and acknowledge giving in Sheffield was launched on Friday at the High Sheriff Luncheon at Cutlers Hall by Paul Blomfield MP in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, the Lord Mayor of Sheffield and Council Leader Julie Dore.

The event was hosted by Julie Kenny, High Sheriff of South Yorkshire and was organised South Yorkshire Community Foundation.

The campaign is set to encourage all aspects of giving such as payroll giving and online giving and will recognise and encourage local philanthropy and volunteering. It also launched a new website www.localgiving.com/southyorkshire, which offers local Sheffield groups their own webpage to claim Gift Aid and receive online donations. 100 Sheffield Groups will be supported financially to have a presence on the site for the next 15 months, boosting their access to local fundraising.

 
From left to right: Cllr Jackie Drayton, Chairman of SYCF Jonathan Hunt, Dame Stephanie Shirley, Leader of Sheffield City Council Julie Dore, Paul Blomfield MP and CEO of SYCF Pauline Grice

Sheffield Gives focuses on changing the way we think about giving and is just one thread of The Transforming Local Infrastructure Project that will re-engineer the support available to community groups, charities and third sector organisations in Sheffield. The transformation will deliver support more efficiently and more effectively than ever before.

Guest speaker Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central spoke expansively on the benefits of the Sheffield Gives campaign and praised the giving that already happens locally, he said: "Charitable giving is not and can't be a substitute for funding cuts but this new programme will help to demonstrate what a great city Sheffield is for volunteering and for giving."

SYCF is delivering the Sheffield Gives Campaign and has already set high goals on what will be achieved over the next 15 months.

Pauline Grice, CEO of SYCF spoke of her excitement as the project was launched, saying: "It is about acknowledging the giving that is already happening in Sheffield for causes large and small, for one off capital campaigns and for regular running costs. It's about raising awareness about how generous Sheffield people are and what brilliant causes they support, as a means to encourage others to join in by giving in cash, in kind or in time to local causes.

Visit http://www.sheffieldgives.com/ for further information on how this campaign can help Sheffield thrive.