EDF and its employees raise more than £965,000 for Marie Curie

EDF Energy is celebrating raising almost £1million for Marie Curie as its partnership with the charity comes to an end. Employees across the UK, including at Dungeness  in Kent, have undertaken hundreds of activities to raise money for the charity from hosting tea parties and bake sales to skydiving.

• Total funds raised are enough to pay for over 48,250 nursing hours
• Employees exceeded their three year fundraising target in the first 15 months
• Dungeness  employees alone raised over £15,000

Bob Castle, 68, who has retired as a maintenance technician but still works at Dungeness  as a station guide ran the London Marathon in 2014 dressed as a daffodil to raise money for the charity.

He said: “I think EDF Energy has adopted a particularly good cause with their charity partnership. Everyone at Dungeness  has got involved in fund-raising and the result across the company has been phenomenal. It’s nice to feel part of something that is really making a difference.”

In addition to employee fundraising the company’s Business Energy Services team donated a £40,000 service to help identify and implement energy efficiency improvements at Marie Curie’s nine hospices.

All the funds raised from the partnership will help Marie Curie Nurses provide more care to people with terminal illnesses in their own homes and in the charity’s nine hospices.

Last year alone, the charity cared for more than 40,000 terminally ill patients across the UK and provided emotional support to their families. The money raised by EDF Energy employees is enough to provide more than 48,250 hours of hands-on nursing care and support.

Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said: “On behalf of everyone at Marie Curie, I want to thank EDF Energy for their incredible support over the last three years.  We have been overwhelmed by their fantastic efforts to raise funds so that we can continue to provide hands-on care and support to people living with a terminal illness and their families across the UK.  Their fundraising efforts, combined with their energy review of our hospices, have made a lasting impact and will ensure we can do more and reach more people. Raising over £965,000 is a phenomenal achievement and everyone at EDF Energy should be very proud of it.”

How the funding broke down

After exceeding the initial three year fundraising target of £300,000 in just over a year, staff at EDF Energy went on to raise and donate more than £645,000 for the charity. The company boosted the total raised by employees with £100,000 each year of the partnership taking the final amount to more than £965,000.

What’s next at EDF Energy?

The charity partnership finished at the end of April and employees across EDF Energy will be able to vote for a new charity partner later this year. Until then, the company will be supporting the British Paralympic Association’s campaign to Supercharge ParalympicsGB, raising funds to make sure that British athletes have the best possible support to compete at Rio 2016 and beyond.