Screwfix Foundation awards £1 million to charities during coronavirus crisis

The Screwfix Foundation has given more than £1 million in grants to 200 charities and not-for-profit organisations during the coronavirus crisis, thanks to donations from Screwfix customers and colleagues.

The Screwfix Foundation helps charities and not-for-profit organisations to fix, repair, maintain and improve their facilities. These latest donations will support charities across the UK at a time when many have been unable to carry out their own fundraising activities.

Local charities and organisations that have benefited from the grants include Papworth Trust, Save the Family and Don’t Lose Hope, which each received grants of up to £5,000.

The Screwfix Foundation also awarded additional funding to support two charities with large projects. Helen & Douglas House is a charity that provides hospice care for babies and children, while Rising Sun Domestic Violence & Abuse provides services for adults, children and families. A further £100,000 has been awarded to national partner Macmillan Cancer Support.

The Screwfix Foundation Trustee and Screwfix CEO John Mewett said: “The generosity of our customers throughout this crisis has been phenomenal. Your record-breaking donations have helped us to support so many more community charities and not-for-profit organisations with grants. We would like to say a huge thank you to all our customers and colleagues for allowing us to award these fantastic charities, who go above and beyond for their communities. Your kindness has truly blown us away.”

Screwfix customers helped support the Foundation by rounding up their orders on Screwfix.com through the Digital Charity Box, Pennies.

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO of Pennies said: “The response from Screwfix customers during the pandemic has been nothing short of inspiring. Pennies exists to ensure microdonations – those small sums of money that mean so much to charities – can still be made even as people carry less cash and business shifts online. The Screwfix community has proven just how powerful this way of giving is and has broken records in the process – with customers regularly making a quarter of a million micro-donations a week during the COVID19 pandemic. From the whole Pennies team, thank you – your micro-donations matter, now more than ever.”