Donation to help bereavement charity

Thirteen donated £565 to Russ Devereux Headlight Project after 565 of the workforce updated their personal sensitive information on the company’s online HR system.

To help Thirteen create a better working environment for everyone, the housing provider needs to understand the backgrounds of its employees. This will help the organisation to work on more appropriate processes, facilities and services for colleagues.

To encourage staff to update their information – including details about religion, ethnic group, gender, trans identity, or details about disabilities - Thirteen pledged to donate £1 for every record that was amended during a one month period.

Jenna Santos Wood, from Thirteen’s people team, said: “Starting on Zero Discrimination Day, we asked our colleagues to make sure that the information we held about them was up-to-date.

“It’s important that we have these details as it helps us to better understand our workforce and develop the right support for colleagues across Thirteen. It also means that we can monitor equal opportunities and helps to ensure that our workforce is reflective of our customer base.”

The money donated by Thirteen will be used by the Headlight Project to deliver a range of services to support individuals and families who have been affected by suicide and sudden death.

Claire Cantwell, a counsellor with the Headlight Project, said: “The charity was set up three years ago in memory of Russ Devereux and works with families and individuals who have been affected by a traumatic bereavement.

“We provide 1-1 counselling and group sessions for adults and children, and we also work with children in schools, providing things like counselling and play therapy sessions.

“We have two counsellors and a play therapist who work with our clients so this money will go towards the work we all do to help people who are facing real difficulties.

“The number of people we work with continues to increase, so funding from organisations in our area is really important to help us, so we’re really grateful to Thirteen and their staff for this donation.”

For more details about the Headlight Project, visit www.headlightproject.org