FinTrU and charity partner AWARE NI celebrate successful partnership

AWARE NI, the depression charity for Northern Ireland, is celebrating the success of its official charity partnership with local company FinTrU. The partnership, which ran for a course of two years, generated £200,000 through a range of fundraising initiatives.

FinTrU employees raised funds by participating in AWARE NI events such the charity’s coastal walk 'Giant Steps', abseils, and sea splashes, as well as organising in-house fundraising events and monthly donations.

AWARE NI’s vision is "a future where people can talk about their mental health openly, access services appropriate to their needs and have the skills and knowledge to maintain positive mental health."

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The funds will support local mental health services, including AWARE NI's network of free-to-attend support groups, outreach service, email and telephone support line and education and training programmes. Employees at FinTrU’s North West office in Carlisle House presented the final cheque to AWARE on Wednesday, December 11, boosting the charity's Christmas loneliness campaign.

Funds raised through this campaign ensured the support groups remained fully operational following the festive season which is a time when many individuals face challenges such as loneliness, social anxiety, and financial hardship.

Leigh Osborne, Head of Fundraising at AWARE NI, expressed gratitude, stating: "Our partnership with FinTrU has been an outstanding success. We are truly thankful to all their staff for their dedication and commitment to raising this incredible amount of money.

"It has been a pleasure to work with them over the past two years. We rely on fundraising income to deliver our range of mental health support services and education programmes across the country."

Osborne continued: "Increasing waiting lists, along with other barriers to accessing mental health support, means our services are needed more now than ever before. Partnerships like this are vital to the work we do."

Katrien Roppe, FinTrU Chief of Staff, shared her thoughts on the collaboration, saying: "FinTrU is passionate about giving back to the community and supporting important causes like AWARE NI.

"Mental health is a crucial issue, and we are committed to supporting AWARE NI's efforts to provide essential services. Our employees voted for AWARE as our charity partner and we have greatly enjoyed working with the team over the past two years.”

This milestone for FinTrU and AWARE NI marks the culmination of a highly successful partnership and highlights the incredible impact that collaborations like this can achieve.

AWARE NI has said it looks forward to building on this momentum, continuing its mission to support mental health across Northern Ireland with the help of dedicated partners like FinTrU.

For more information, visit www.aware-ni.org.