Royal Mail workers transformed by fundraising drive

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POSTAL workers at Royal Mail Warrington who raised more than £3.5k for charity have found that fundraising brings them together as a community.

The fundraising drive began after employees took part in a Christmas Jumper day and since then they have raised money for charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and mental health charity, Mind.

Amy Grisdale, 28, is People Development Lead and said: “It genuinely couldn’t be done without the participation of the front line staff – they are always very generous.”

There are around 600 workers at the centre and everybody gets involved in choosing the charities and taking part in events like bake sales, ‘tough mudder’ races and Indian snack stalls.

“We are interacting on a different level – it used to be a formal, business level, now it’s a community,” said Amy.

“There’s a massive buzz about the place.”

Managers found that the top reason for sick leave was mental health problems and this is why they chose to support Mind.

Amy said that the company is working to break down the stigma of mental health issues and training staff to support people in the workplace.

She said that everybody is very committed to the fundraising and they have now chosen to support the local charity, Warrington Disability Partnership.

“It’s nice to have something to look forward to – people really get into the spirit of it.”