Welsh Water generosity raises vital funds for Ukraine

• Generosity of colleagues across Wales has raised £10,000 in one week for people of Ukraine
• Includes £2,500 the company has donated from its community fund
• UNISON also contributed £2,500 to the total

Welsh Water colleagues from across Wales have shown their generosity and dug deep into their pockets to raise vital funds to support the people of Ukraine impacted by the war. 

The not-for-profit utility company set itself a target of raising £2,500 which was quickly exceeded within a week as colleagues got behind a range of fund-raising activities.  This included the water sampling teams at its laboratories in Newport and Bretton selling blue and yellow ribbons for people to wear in support. 

The money raised has been pledged to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal which will channel the money through to those most in need due to the war.

 Collectively, £10,000 was raised by colleagues including the company’s donation of £2,500 from its community fund.  In addition to this, UNISON, the Cymru Wales Water branch union representing Welsh Water colleagues also contributed £2,500 to the total amount.

UK donations have topped £100m, with £25m from the UK government, said the DEC which brings together several UK aid charities including the British Red Cross, Save the Children and Oxfam. Charities on the ground have urged people to show their support through cash donations rather by giving specific items, it said.

The news follows Welsh Water’s recent announcement that it has provided 55,200 litres of bottled water to the country to provide essential supplies to help combat the humanitarian crisis.

Pete Perry, Chief Executive of Welsh Water said: “This is an amazing show of support from our generous colleagues who have far exceeded the target set in just a week. Charities such as DEC are vital to meeting the immediate needs of all people fleeing with food, water, medical assistance, protection and trauma care and we are proud to play our part in supporting these momentous efforts.”

John Sampson Secretary of the Cymru Wales Water Branch of UNISON:

“The Cymru Wales Water UNISON branch was keen to support the vital DEC Ukraine appeal and after seeing the offer from Welsh Water to match fund colleague donations up to £2,500 it seemed fitting that we should also match the company’s offer. It was heartening to see this amount of money being raised in such a short time, especially from a company of our size and know that our donation will help people in need.”