Hopkins Homes is holding an online vote to decide which Suffolk charities will receive a share of a £10,000 donation from the Hopkins Charitable Fund.
Suffolk residents can take part in the vote by choosing their favourite from a shortlist of seven local charities. The charity which receives the most votes will receive a £7,000 donation, second place will receive £2,000 and £1,000 will go to the charity receiving the third highest number of votes.
James Hopkins, Executive Chairman of Hopkins Homes said: “As a Suffolk based company we have always been involved in supporting local charities and many of our employees also have personal links with them. We are very excited to ask residents of Suffolk to choose which of these shortlisted charities they would like us to support.
“In 2017, we held charity votes in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk and The Bobby Scheme and Centre81 each received £7,000 respectively. It is fantastic to see the difference the money has already made to them.”
Hopkins Homes launched its Community Fund in 2016 with a £250,000 endowment administered by the Suffolk Community Foundation. To mark the sale of their 5,000th home, the size of this fund was doubled to £500,000 and expanded to cover Norfolk and Cambridgeshire in addition to Suffolk. The charity vote is just one of the ways in which these funds will be distributed.
James continues: “The vote is a great opportunity for the charities to engage with the public and to raise their profiles as well as be in with the chance to receive a substantial donation. The seven charities shortlisted all carry out fantastic work across the county and we are delighted to support them in this.”
The shortlist has been compiled by Hopkins Homes with the assistance of the Suffolk Community Foundation and focuses on key themes of homelessness and displacement, deprivation and vulnerable people. The charities chosen for the shortlist are:
- Access Community Trust
- Bury Drop In
- Bury Women’s Aid
- IHAG
- Halesworth Volunteer Centre
- Reach
- 4YP
The public can find out more about each charity and cast their vote by visiting www.hopkinshomescharity.co.uk/suffolk
Stephen Singleton, CEO of Suffolk Community Foundation said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Hopkins Homes for their continued generosity to charities across Suffolk. The Suffolk Community Foundation has worked very closely with Hopkins Homes for many years. The expansion of the Hopkins Charitable Fund will deliver at least £175,000 to charities across Suffolk over five years, meaning more of these causes will benefit from donations.
“I would like to urge members of the community to vote for their chosen charity as this amount of money can make a huge difference to the work they are able to provide for vulnerable members of the community.”
The vote will run until 5pm Friday 9 March 2018.
The housebuilder was recently crowned Best Medium Housebuilder at a national awards ceremony and currently has developments in progress across Suffolk with new developments at Bramford and Easton to be launched soon.