Matthew's A Friend in Me wins top award

A BARNSLEY charity has received £5,000 as part of an annual charity award scheme.

Matthew’s A Friend in Me is one of three charities to receive awards in the Sheffield Mutual’s 2024 Charity Award.

Since 2017, Sheffield Mutual, a provider of savings and investment products, has invited its members and the public to nominate their favourite charities to receive donations of up to £5,000.

Each year, nominations are narrowed down to a shortlist of ten deserving charities, which then proceed to a public vote. This year's finalists included: Bluebell Wood, The Choir with No Name, FareShare Yorkshire, Guide Dogs, Matthew’s A Friend in Me, Men Walk Talk, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, St Luke’s Sheffield’s Hospice and The Donkey Sanctuary.

The top three charities receiving awards this year are:

1st place – Matthew’s A Friend in Me - £5,000

2nd place – FareShare Yorkshire - £1,500

3rd place – Bluebell Wood - £1,000

Jamie Bellamy, chief executive officer of Sheffield Mutual, expressed his gratitude and congratulations: “I would like to congratulate Matthew's A Friend in Me, FareShare Yorkshire and Bluebell Wood for achieving the top three spots, and to thank all participating charities, Sheffield Mutual members, and the public for their nominations and votes. Supporting charities, community groups and good causes is central to our purpose at Sheffield Mutual, and it's inspiring to witness the positive impact these organisations have on the community.”

Louise Roberts, secretary at Matthew’s A Friend in Me, said: “Firstly, the committee members at Matthew’s A Friend in Me were truly honoured to be nominated for the Sheffield Mutual Charity Award and to now find out that we have won, we are absolutely delighted with the outcome.

“We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to all the people who took time to vote for us, thanks to these caring individuals we can continue to make a tremendous difference in the lives of young people and their families who are facing childhood cancer.

“All the charity money including this prize will be spent supporting patients and their families currently receiving treatment at Sheffield Children’s Hospital attending Ward M3.”

Jonathan Williams, Deputy Chief Executive at FareShare Yorkshire said: “We are delighted that FareShare Yorkshire has received the second most votes in the 2024 Sheffield Mutual Charity Award. Our team are very grateful to all of the people who have given us their support. The £1,500 donation will enable us to serve more charities and community groups across Sheffield through the winter. Our staff and volunteers are working really hard to intercept surplus food six days a week to then redistribute it to as many frontline services as possible. There are many brilliant organisations which are feeding people who face food insecurity. Your help means that we can now do even more for them. Thank you to Sheffield Mutual and everyone who has made this possible.”

Paul Hawkins, individual giving fundraiser at Bluebell Wood said: “We are so pleased to receive the £1,000 charity award and would like to say a big thank you to Sheffield Mutual and all the fantastic supporters who voted for us.

“We need to raise around £6.5m each year to keep our doors open and the hospice only receives 16 per cent statutory funding. Awards like this mean so much to everyone at Bluebell Wood, especially the families we support in Sheffield and beyond.”