Ecclesiastical staff go the extra mile to support local cause

Published by

Nicky Godding

Nine volunteers from Gloucester based insurer Ecclesiastical have run, walked and cycled 371.45 miles to raise vital funds for The Wiggly Worm charity.

During August, members of Ecclesiastical’s personal lines team completed 371.45 miles – the distance between the specialist insurer’s Gloucester, Manchester and London offices.

The group used Strava to track how many miles they were each doing and have raised £689 in donations. The Wiggly Worm will receive a total of £1,378 as Ecclesiastical matches 100% of what its employees fundraise.

The money raised will help The Wiggly Worm continue to provide food and cooking courses to support and inspire people of any age, background or ability to explore and develop their practical cooking skills, as well as teamwork, communication and confidence, and help prepare them for independent living and work.

The charity has also produced over 700 delicious and nutritious family meals as part of Feed Cheltenham’s holiday hunger coalition, supporting families who needed a little extra help over the summer holidays.

Dominika Vargova from Ecclesiastical Insurance said: “We’re delighted to be able to support The Wiggly Worm charity as it does some fantastic work in our local community. Ecclesiastical encourages all of its staff to fundraise for good causes and matches 100% of what its employees fundraise. Many of us have been working from home so it has also been a great motivator to get outside and explore the beautiful countryside in Gloucestershire and beyond.”

Joanna Scott, Operations Director, The Wiggly Worm, said: “Food is at the heart of everything we do and the funds raised by Ecclesiastical Insurance will enable young people with learning difficulties to join our new online ‘Get Cooking’ at home workshop running during October half term.”

Ecclesiastical staff gave more than £340,000 to good causes in 2018 through personal grants and matched donations for fundraising and payroll giving as part of the company’s ‘MyGiving’ scheme.

Last year, Ecclesiastical launched its second Impact Report to celebrate some of the many good causes it has helped.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.