STAFF at a Chester insurance broker have raised thousands of pounds for two local good causes.

Gallagher employees raised a combined total of almost £4,000, as part of the company’s community support programme.

A £2,000 donation has been awarded to the Chester & District Committee for Deaf People, made through Gallagher’s Community Fund, a nationwide initiative which invites colleagues to nominate UK charities to receive vital funding.

The Chester & District Committee for Deaf People, nominated by Martin Lunt, broker in Gallagher’s Chester team, provides support and services for deaf people and those with hearing loss in Chester and the surrounding areas.

Operating from the Chester Deaf Centre on South View Road, a support centre and social club for deaf people and those hard of hearing, the charity runs a variety of social activities including a choir, ‘Dee-Sign’, whose members perform in British Sign Language (BSL).

Founded in 1997, the choir is made up of members of the local deaf community, relatives of deaf people, care workers and volunteers, as well as British Sign Language students, and in recent years, has performed at numerous concert venues and participated in several competitions around the country.

With most of the charity’s income streams suspended over the past year, with lockdown and social distancing meaning events and activities having to be put on hold, the funds will help to ensure the Chester & District Committee for Deaf People can continue the vital services it offers.

An additional £1,750 was donated to animal rescue charity North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR) including a donation from the Gallagher Community Fund, and funds raised through a sponsored dog walk organised by Yvonne Addis, Account Broker in Gallagher’s Chester team.

Trelogan-based NCAR helps stray, abandoned and unwanted animals find new homes. Founded in 1978, the charity now cares for and rehomes over 1,900 pets a year, as well as promoting responsible pet ownership in the local community, including running awareness programmes in schools.

The donation will go towards funding the centre’s behaviour training programme for the animals it cares for, as well as ongoing training and development of its employees and volunteers.

Gallagher’s 16-strong Chester team, based on Boughton, looks after the insurance and risk management requirements for a broad range of businesses in Cheshire, North Wales and Merseyside.

John Pane, chairman of the Chester & District Committee for Deaf People, said: “We are very grateful to Gallagher for this generous and lovely gesture.

"Deafness is a very isolating disability anyway, but lockdowns due to Covid-19 have made the loneliness and isolation experienced by many deaf people even worse. This wonderful donation will enable us to reopen the club after June 21, when hopefully all restrictions will be lifted.”

Nicky Owen, media relations and fundraising manager at NCAR, said: “The impact of Covid-19 has been monumental and rescue centres continue to fall under real pressure.

"With our income streams impacted during the past year as a result of the pandemic, we are so grateful to Gallagher for the donation. Every penny donated to NCAR goes directly toward the care of our animals – and the funding will help us to ensure that we can continue to provide the animals we care for with a second chance to find their forever family.”

Commenting on the team’s fundraising efforts, Dan Launder, managing director of Gallagher’s Chester office, said: “As a community broker, we play an active role in the areas where we are based and are passionate about providing both tangible support and worthwhile donations to local good causes.

"Both the Chester & District Committee for Deaf People and NCAR are causes that are close to a number of our team members’ hearts, and at a time of significant challenge and uncertainty for many charities, we are delighted to have had the opportunity to support these two organisations, so that they can continue their valuable work.”