National Express train operator c2c has donated over £3,000 to the local Essex based charity ‘Down Syndrome Extra 21’.
The fundraising was spearheaded by c2c’s lost property office manager June Carpenter, by holding auctions of old and unclaimed lost property.
Through holding the auctions, c2c raised at first £1,900, then a further £1,218 at a subsequent auction.
All of the items in the auction had been in the lost property office for more than 3 months and remained unclaimed.
The auction included a wide range of items from laptops, cameras, mobile phones and computers games, to a children’s rocking horse. The most common items to be handed in to the lost property office are scarves, gloves and coats.
Julian Drury Managing Director of c2c said:
“As well as working to provide our customers in south Essex and east London with the best service possible, we are always seeking out new ways in which we can help the local community.
“June has been instrumental in ensuring that no old, unclaimed lost property goes to waste and has done much to help local charities through her efforts. We are pleased that ‘Down Syndrome Extra 21’ is the latest charity to benefit from her hard work.”
‘Down Syndrome Extra 21’ is an Essex based charity, whose committee is made up of parents of children with Down Syndrome, all of whom are volunteers, with the result that every penny raised is spent on the charity rather than overheads.
The committee has experience of a broad spectrum of issues relating to the health, education, and social problems encountered by children with Downs Syndrome; making them well placed to provide essential information to parents when a diagnosis is made.
They also provide much needed support and information to both Schools and Health authorities on Down Syndrome.
Paul Smith Vice-Chair of ‘Down Syndrome Extra 21’ said:
“As a volunteer based local charity we rely heavily on wonderful donations such as these from c2c, without these we would not be able to continue our work to provide support and information to our members.
“The money raised will allow us to continue a number of new ventures including our laptop loan scheme to our members children in local primary schools, information packs to hospitals, and group activity days for our members families. A massive thank you to June and the c2c team for their fantastic support.”
Extra 21 runs a number of local support groups across Essex and East London, including Southend, Barking and Newham, for more information about the charity please log on to the website.
