- The UK’s community bank has partnered with Action for Children to help young people and families across the UK this winter.
- Throughout December the bank’s 77 stores will house a specially designed Magic Money Tree, encouraging the nation to buy a gift to help a child in need.
The bank is also donating the value of 1,000 days’ worth of food to ensure disadvantaged children in local communities across the UK are able to have a hot meal.
Metro Bank, the UK’s community bank, today unveils gift giving Magic Money Trees in each of its 77 stores – to support disadvantaged children across the UK. The initiative is being run in partnership with Action for Children, as the charity’s only corporate partner to host gift giving pop-up locations as part of its ‘Secret Santa’ campaign.
Customers and non-customers alike are invited to pop-in to a Metro Bank store, take a ‘magic’ gold coin from the Magic Money Tree and use the QR code to buy a gift online. Gifts include a day’s food for a child at Christmas (£10), a pair of shoes for a child in winter (£25) or warm clothes for the cold season (£40. People can also make a donation for any amount of their choice.
While encouraging its customers and colleagues to donate, Metro Bank will also gift the value of 1,000 days of food to vulnerable children to help ensure no child goes hungry.
The charity partnership comes at a time when young people and families need support more than ever, with 4.1 million children living in poverty – the equivalent of nine children in an average school classroom of 30. Furthermore 850,000 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health condition – that’s one child in ten.
Before the pandemic, life for many vulnerable children had reached breaking point and now with the added challenges of the past year, many families have been pushed deeper into crisis. However, Action for Children were able to keep 99% of their services open throughout the pandemic, which is testament to its incredible front-line staff.
Metro Bank prides itself on delivering more than just banking, going above and beyond to support local communities.
Daniel Frumkin, Chief Executive Officer at Metro Bank said: “Despite the challenges everyone has faced in 2020, I’m really proud of the way Metro Bank has demonstrated our commitment to being the UK’s best community bank, with our colleagues stepping up to support our customers and the local communities we serve.
“So I’m delighted that our stores across the UK will continue to do that this Christmas through our partnership with Action for Children. The work they do to support the most vulnerable children and families is absolutely essential and I hope our Metro Bank Magic Money Trees will encourage those who can to help care for even more children in their local community.
Action for Children’s Director of Fundraising & Marketing, Locks Farmer, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Metro Bank for choosing to support our Secret Santa campaign, at a time we’ll be needed by vulnerable children more than ever.
“For most of us, the festive season is a happy time. But our frontline workers will be helping thousands of children and young people who face one of the most difficult Christmases of their lives, without a hot meal, a present or a safe place to sleep.
“Metro Bank and their generous customers will help us continue our work to make a life-changing difference to struggling families this Christmas, and beyond.”
This year, Action for Children’s Secret Santa campaign aims to get the British public to donate and become a Secret Santa for a vulnerable child to combat the thousands of children and young people facing Christmas without a hot meal, warm clothes or a safe place to sleep. The campaign is being supported by many famous faces including Mrs Hinch, Ore Oduba, Jon Snow and Liam Gallagher.
If you’d like to buy a gift for a vulnerable child this December from Metro Bank’s Magic Money Trees, visit one of the bank’s 77 stores across England and Wales or follow the link here: iamsanta.org.uk/Metrobank.
