The Wallich - Christmas Jumper Day

Stagecoach supports homelessness charity in Wales

Stagecoach in South Wales has supported ‘The Wallich’, Wales’s largest homelessness and rough sleeping charity by donating £1000.

Every year Stagecoach allows its staff to wear Christmas Jumpers on the official ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ in exchange for a £2 donation towards a local charity. Without knowing, four members of staff solidified their passion for public transport by turning up wearing the same bus-themed Christmas jumper.

The Staff were so eager to raise money that they wore their jumpers again on Christmas Eve, raising more than £500 collectively across the five depots in Wales and two outstations. Stagecoach match funded the donation with the final amount totalling £1000 and decided to donate the money to The Wallich.

The Wallich operates under three core objectives: getting people off the streets; keeping people off the streets; and creating opportunities for people. They run 68 diverse projects, across 18 local authorities, working with more than 9,000 homeless and vulnerable people every year across Wales.

Mike Walmsley, Corporate Fundraising Manager of The Wallich came to visit Porth depot to tell Stagecoach how their donation will be used “£1000, is a sizeable contribution towards ensuring the longevity of vital homelessness services in Wales. Stagecoach’s donation will go towards our ‘Keep The Lights On’ campaign, which asked businesses and the general public to help us keep our emergency provision open for people who are sleeping rough. According to the UK Government, rough sleeping across the UK has risen 165% in the past nine years; it is essential that we all play our part to coordinate a community response to homelessness”.

Nigel Winter, Managing Director for Stagecoach in South Wales said: “Our staff thoroughly enjoy showcasing their festive jumpers every December, not only to raise money for local good causes but it boosts morale and our customers enjoy it too. Everyone participated and we had lots of fantastic jumpers in all the depots, a full Santa outfit, and even an outfit clash; where 4 of our employees unknowingly turned up in the same bus themed Christmas jumper! We’re so proud that we were able to donate £1000 to the people in Wales who need it most”.





        
        

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach South Wales 

·         At Stagecoach South Wales, we are proud to serve communities throughout South East Wales covering Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Newport, Monmouthshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and services into Herefordshire.

·         Our team of 880 people help to connect over 23 million passengers every year in South Wales across a fleet of 340 buses.

·         We connect people with jobs, skills and training, bring customers to our high streets, connect tourists with visitor attractions, and draw families, friends and communities together.

·         We are committed to helping the environment, and our investment in cleaner technology will see 16 new electric buses introduced in Wales this year. By the end of 2020, over a third of our buses will be low or zero emission.