Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG), part of Flutter Entertainment, confirmed the six-figure amount after a final night of fund-raising by staff and celebrities at the company’s Annual Charity Gala in Leeds last Wednesday.
Support Dogs is dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children and adults with various challenging medical conditions. The Yorkshire-based charity specialises in three specific programmes – autism assistance dogs for children, seizure alert dogs for people with epilepsy and disability assistance dogs.
SBG staff voted to raise funding for Support Dogs at the start of the year and over the past twelve months, employees have been taking part in a number of challenges – such as climbing the Three Peaks, where over 100 colleagues raised more than £10,000.
On Wednesday night, more than 900 staff helped raise £100,000 at the Armouries in Leeds, with ITV racing hosts Oli Bell and Ed Chamberlin and Peaky Blinders actor Packy Lee helping to run a number of auctions during the evening.
SBG has been running its charity event for six years, raising around £650,000 for local and national charities including the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Macmillan Cancer, Give A Duck, Teenage Cancer Trust and Candlelighters.
Chris Daykin, Corporate Partnerships Manager Support Dogs commented: “I’d like to thank everyone at Sky Betting & Gaming who’s taken part in challenges and events this year to help raise money for Support Dogs.
For a small charity like us, that needs to raise just over £1 million a year to keep going, a partnership like this has a monumental impact. It can take two years and approximately £30,000 to train one of our amazing dogs, and when we do, we’re able to make a life-changing impact on a family affected by autism, disability or epilepsy.
Thank you for making Support Dogs your charity of the year.”
Steve Birch, Chief Commercial Officer, Sky Betting & Gaming, said: “It’s been an honour to partner with Support Dogs as SBG’s 2022 charity of the year and I’d like to thank colleagues for the endless support they have shown throughout the year towards this thoroughly deserving cause. A core pillar of Flutter’s sustainability strategy, the Positive Impact Plan, is working with communities to do that bit more. It’s a great example of how Flutter and SBG have combined scale and local experience to drive positive changes in the areas in which we live and work.”
For further information, please contact corporatemedia@flutter.com.
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