Employees at Beaverbrooks have given through payroll and taken part in fundraising activities
Staff at a Hull jewellery have contributed to £25m given to charities and communities in the last 25 years. The team at Beaverbooks Hull, in Princes Quay, celebrated International Charity Day having reached the milestone in charitable giving.
Hull workers have taken part in a number of fundraising activities including payroll giving with donations matched by the business. And each year, employees receive £100 to donate to a cause close to their heart. The store team has also taken part in marshalling and giving blood for local charity, The Lamp Stand Group.
Beaverbrooks is a £217m turnover business with 83 stores across the country, including 57 Beaverbrooks-branded sites, three Loupe Boutiques with Rolex showrooms and 23 luxury mono-brand shops including Omega, Breitling, Tudor and Tag Heuer. The firm says that as part of a mission to enrich lives and make a difference it donates 20% of its retained profits each year.
Since 2000 the chain has supported more than 500 charities and last year was given the HM Government & Institute of Fundraising’s Diamond Award for its payroll given – the seventh year it has achieved the mark. Around 45% of the firm’s 1,170 employees regularly donate through their pay – which bosses say is well above the national average of 6%.
Between March 2024 and March 25 Beaverbooks staff gave more than £66,500 through payroll giving. This was matched by the company such that more than £117,000 was donated in that year alone.
Debbie Palmer, store manager at Beaverbrooks Hull, said: “We’re so proud to be part of this £25m milestone. Giving back is what Beaverbrooks is all about – and our Hull team love supporting causes that really matter in our community. Whether it’s fundraising, volunteering, or simply lending a hand, it’s amazing to see the difference we can make together.”
In its latest accounts – which cover the 52 weeks to the beginning of March and show operating profits of £6.9m – Beaverbrooks said it distributed more than £1.6m during the year to UK registered charities through Beaverbooks Charitable Trust. Trustees, including the firm’s chairman, managing director, head of community responsibility and charity manager, met every three-three weeks to discuss the activity, and also met regularly with sponsored charities.
The retailer said: “Beaverbrooks encourage colleagues to get involved in a wide range of volunteering projects, with a minimum of two days paid time (16 hours) available to each employee, each period. We increased our focus on charity time during the year 2024-25 with a project group from our stores and office who focussed on volunteering. We are proud to say that our time giving figures during the period increased to 5,718 hours/715 days of time given to doing good in the local community (2023-24: 5,584 hours/698 days).
“Beaverbrooks colleagues have again taken part in a variety of fundraising and mass participation events – from large scale events like Marathons to Sky Diving to Bake Sales and selling homemade items and produce. During the period our colleagues raised £69,235 (2023-24: £64,872) which we match funded to £138,471 (2023-24: £129,744).
“The Beaverbrooks Blackpool 10k Fun Run which we sponsor and support with Trinity Hospice each year was again a great success. The 2024 event raised £84,991 for the hospice. We also had colleagues helping on the day as route and finish line marshals. The Beaverbrooks Bike Ride was also very successful in June 2024 with colleagues cycling and marshalling route and helping raise a further £26,704 for Trinity Hospice.”
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