AFTER a year’s fundraising for a local hospice, the near-200 staff at The Funding Corporation in Chester have finally reached the cheque-out point.

Philip Crawford, community fundraiser for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Backford, was there to receive their £4,500 donation.

The charity has been the adopted good cause of the Chester Business Park company for the past 12 months, along with national motor industry charity BEN.

Throughout the year staff and bosses threw themselves headlong into a programme of fundraising activities – quite literally in the case of those who took part in a 10,000ft sky dive.

Other initiatives included joining in a fun run with Coronation Street stars, themed charity days, teddy bear beauty contests and sponsored car washes of staff cars by the firm’s directors.

Co-ordinating the events was The Funding Corporation’s charity committee, which is headed by marketing manager Jane Whittle.

She said: “Every year our staff vote on a local good cause to support – and the amazing work done by the Hospice of the Good Shepherd was an extremely popular choice.

“Its funding relies largely on donations from the local community, and caring for more than 1,500 people from the Chester area each year takes a whole lot of cash.

“Fundraisers from the hospice were fantastic at supporting our efforts – and the icing on the cake was when The Funding Corporation doubled every pound we raised when the cheque was written.

“We’ve also managed to raise more than £2,000 for our motor industry charity, so all in all it’s been a very busy year!”

In addition to hard cash, many members of The Funding Corporation contributed to the hospice during the past 12 months by stepping forward as volunteers.

They were able to do this in work time, thanks to the Employee Volunteer Programme started by the company last summer which allows staff to dedicate a day a year on full pay to helping charity.

Last week’s cheque presentation to fundraiser Philip Crawford was made at a special ceremony at the firm’s headquarters, attended by many of its staff.