Staff from North East law firm Hay & Kilner have donated more than £6,300 to a busy Newcastle foodbank after the completion of a year-long fundraising drive.

After adopting Newcastle West End Foodbank as their dedicated charity for their financial year 2021/2022, members of the Newcastle-headquartered practice have been carrying out a range of fundraising activities, including bake sales, raffles, sweepstakes and a quiz.

A 16-strong staff team took on sub-zero temperatures and thick fog to complete a sponsored climb of Helvellyn, England’s third highest mountain, while 3 of the firm’s trainees took part in the Great North Run and paralegal Beth Langley completed the Edinburgh half marathon.

And now, after totalling up everything they’ve raised through the year, the team has handed over a cheque for £6,342.51.

Staff have also undertaken a series of volunteer days with the Foodbank through the year, helping to organise the hundreds of deliveries that it makes across the city every week. The firm has also held its own bi-monthly food collections.

Founded in 2013, Newcastle West End Foodbank operates from seven centres across the city region and provided emergency food aid to over 43,000 people during the 12 months to the end of March this year, 30 per cent of whom were children.

It distributed an average of 1,400 three-day food parcels every month over the same period, with around 260 tonnes of food being given out in total, and has seen demand increasing quickly this year, with more than 2,000 food parcels distributed in a single month for the first ever time during the summer.

It is also having to spend significant amounts of its own resources on buying food to meet this rising demand as a result of a fall in donations at its supermarket collection points due to the impacts of the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.

John McCorry, chief executive at Newcastle West End Foodbank, says: “More people than ever before are visiting our Foodbank as the dramatic rises in the cost of living pushes some households further into hardship and destitution.

“We’re extremely grateful to everyone at Hay & Kilner who has given their given their time to raise money for us this year and for setting a great example around how the North East business community can support charities working to improve the lives of local people.”

Hay & Kilner is one of North East England's leading independent law firms and provides comprehensive legal advice across every aspect of the law to businesses and individuals from both within and outside the region.

Bethany Herbertson, solicitor at Hay & Kilner and a member of the firm’s CSR committee, adds: “Newcastle West End Foodbank is one of the busiest and biggest operations of its type in the country and makes a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people within our home city.

“Seeing the scale of its work, the huge area that it covers and the organisation that goes into its everyday activities was a real eye-opener for those of us who spent time in its warehouse, while the importance of the work done by its team of volunteers can’t be underestimated.

“There’s been a big fundraising effort right across the firm through the year and we’re all really pleased to have been able to raise such an impressive sum at the end of it.”

Hay & Kilner’s dedicated charity for 2023 will be announced early in the new year.