Hays Travel’s Northern Ireland shops pledge £20k for autism charity

Hays Travel has set a goal of raising £20,000 for its new regional charity partner Austism NI.

The pledge, made as the travel agency named Autism NI as its charity partner for Northern Ireland, will involve raising money through its 25 shops in Northern Ireland to help local autistic people and their families.

It will include in-store collections and taking part in key events such as the Glow Walk and Autism NI’s Big Christmas Cuppa campaign. Hays staff and their customers will be encouraged to get involved to support the cause.

Hays staff will also be trained by the charity to support autistic customers and employees and create an accessible service as part of its commitment to become one of Austism NI’s Impact Award Champions.

Nicola Allison, regional sales manager for Northern Ireland, said: “We are excited to start our partnership with Autism NI and support the autism community in Northern Ireland.

“We’re planning lots of fundraising activities across all 25 stores in Northern Ireland, where we aim to raise £20,000 this year.

“This will support 1,800 vital Helpline calls for autistic people and their families. Our teams are also looking forward to receiving training from Autism NI and working towards becoming Impact Award Champions.”

Autism NI provides services to 35,000 autistic people and their families in Northern Ireland and campaigns for acceptance of autism within society.

Sorcha Mathews, corporate fundraising manager at Autism NI, said: “We’re delighted to have Hays Travel on board as a charity partner.

“In addition to raising vital funds for local autism services across Northern Ireland, Hays Travel is also committed to becoming an Impact Award Champion and building an autism accessible and inclusive service.

“Their team will receive tailored training from Autism NI to support their autistic employees and customers.”

The move is part of a company-wide scheme, in which all Hays Travel’s 450 shops are given time and resources to devote to local charitable causes.

Pictured: Launching the charity partnership, from left to right, are: Donna Close, Andy Shaw and Kelsey Smith (far right), all from Hays Travel, with Autism NI corporate fundraising manager Sorcha Mathews (second from right)