Ballee and District Community Group has received a £2,140 donation from Danske Bank’s Employees’ Charity Group.
The donation enabled the group to set up a cookery school for forty local children and young people during the Summer holidays.
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Adrienne Cockram, Senior Branch Manager Danske Bank Downpatrick and Isabel Kelly, Chair of Ballee & District Group with Ellie Magee (6) and Adam Jenner (10) both from Ballee & District Community Group get ready to bake some tasty treats. [/caption]
The community group, which was set up in 2005, supports young disadvantaged people in within a four mile radius of the rural Ballee community. The group runs social, recreational, educational and leisure activities in the form of outdoor play sessions, arts and crafts plus a physical fitness programme including yoga for adults.
Isabel Kelly, Chairperson of Ballee and District Community Group, said: “The money provided through Danske Bank’s Employees’ Charity Group has been an invaluable benefit for children and young people in the local area. The cookery classes allow the children and young people to get hands on experience planning, preparing and cooking healthy meals.”
Danske Bank Downpatrick Senior Branch Manager and member of the Employees’ Charity Group, Adrienne Cockram, said: “The Employees’ Charity Group gives our staff the opportunity to play an active part in local communities across Northern Ireland. Ballee & District Community Group has made a real difference to the lives of local people and we are delighted to be able to support their work. I was pleased to visit the children during one of their recent classes and it was great to see the benefit and enjoyment they got from cooking.”
The Employees’ Charity Group was established in 1991 by staff in Danske Bank, previously Northern Bank, to support charities and good causes throughout Northern Ireland. To date, the Charity Group has paid out in excess of £976,650 to a wide range of charity projects across Northern Ireland. Members pay into a fund monthly through the ‘Give As You Earn scheme’. With no overheads, all money received is used for charitable purposes.
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