Money raised through social events including a quiz, bingo and summer barbecue will benefit a community farm and young people in the arts benefited, each getting a share of donations totalling £5,000.
Award-winning Dorset-based law firm Blanchards Bailey LLP increased its help for good causes during the pandemic.
The firm raised £5,000 divided between three charities: Longmead Community Farm, Dorchester Youth Theatre and Movember, which champions mens’ health.
TASH FOR CASH: Blanchards Bailey Partner Jerome Dodge, left, and the firm’s Angie Gillingham with a £1,600 cheque for the Movember charity, which was just part of what the firm eventually raised for the cause
Blanchards Bailey Finance Partner Alan Horne said: “Faced with the impossible decision of choosing to support just one ‘charity of the year’ we decided to break with tradition and raise funds for several.
“Longmead Community Farm is central to the idea of the integrity of the family and how being close to nature can be a great positive.
“Equally, Dorchester Youth Theatre is a champion of the performing arts in the younger generation and Blanchards Bailey is a keen supporter of the arts through initiatives like Artsreach.
“Both charities are local to our offices so it made perfect sense to help two causes with very different but equally noble goals.”
Each charity was presented with a cheque for £1,000.
CHEQUE POINT: Blanchards Bailey Legal Assistant Leah-May Mansfield, left, presents a cheque for £1,000 to Sarah Cooper of Longmead Community Farm
Jo Simons, artistic director of Dorchester Youth Theatre, said: “We are so, so grateful for Blanchards Bailey’s donation. It’s a phenomenal boost in what has been a very tricky year for us.
“But we’re surviving and thriving with Zoom sessions for our amazing, resilient young people. Our hope is to put on a summer production this year – our Summer MT, a musical Play in a Week – and some of the money could be used for venue hire. We’d also love to offer free workshops after this difficult year and the funding would help pay for those.”
Sarah Cooper, general manager at Longmead Community Farm, said: “Everyone involved in Longmead feels so touched by the support they have received from Blanchards Bailey.
“This donation will allow us to continue to fund our work providing support to families and young people at the farm. More and more people are seeking our assistance and it is really only with the help of such generous donations that we can carry on our work.”
Blanchards Bailey staff also continued their annual fundraising drive in aid of prostate cancer awareness, in memory of friend and colleague Mark Bellman, a former partner of the firm, one of the founders of Blanchards Bailey in its current form, who passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Through a combination of the annual Movember moustache-growing drive and pledging to walk or run 60km in a month, the team raised £2,330 which the firm raised to £3,000 for the charity.
Blanchards Bailey has also kept up its corporate sponsorship of Artsreach, supporting performing arts in rural Dorset communities.