Argus Employees Donate $4,000 to Charity
The Argus Group today [Mar.17] announced that its employees have raised $4,169 in support of Family Centre. The money was raised as a result of the Argus Denim Day programme in its first year.
A cheque was presented to Peter Carey, Director of Development & Community Education at Family Centre, by representatives of the Argus Wellness team who led the initiative. Pictured below from left: Wayne Swan, Claims Engineer for The Argus General Business; Deborah-Ann Simmons, Personal Assistant, Executive; Denise Camara, Administrative Assistant, Health Claims; Peter Carey, Director of Development & Community Education at Family Centre; Brenda Dale, Assistant Vice President, Group Health; and Danielle Blackwell, Administrative Assistant, Pensions.
At least 80% of Argus staff took part in Denim Days held on the last Friday of each month during the company’s fiscal year. Each participant paid $5 to wear jeans to work on the designated day, but additional donations were welcomed from employees.
Employees were invited to vote for the charity they wanted the funds to benefit. Family Centre received the most votes and was chosen because of the meaningful impact it has had on families in Bermuda.
Family Centre helped 203 families in 2010 through therapeutic services and hundreds of others through school and community based services. A record 134 families required the most intensive family intervention last year. Family Centre has increased its most intensive counseling and family support services by 180% in the past two years, but still has a waiting list of families that have not been helped due to funding challenges.
Alison Hill, Chief Executive Officer, The Argus Group, says: “I am really proud of the fundraising success achieved by our Wellness Committee through the Argus Denim Day programme. I am delighted that the participating Argus employees recognised the importance of supporting our community at a time when public funding has been reduced and actively pursued a means of providing such financial assistance.”
Martha Dismont, Executive Director, Family Centre said: “We are incredibly grateful to Argus for selecting Family Centre to receive the funds it raised through its Denim Day programme. This money will be put to good use in helping us to deliver counselling services and prevention programmes, which provide families with the skills they need to be successful and to sustain that success for future generations.The majority of our children and families are facing more complicated problems than ever before but our client outcomes continue to show a 90 per cent to 100 per cent positive impact on child behavior, family functioning and improved parent skill.”
Following the success of the programme in its initial year, Argus will be repeating the Denim Day programme again this financial year.
