Greggs鈥 charitable arm has highlighted its work during 2024 which saw it hit a number of significant milestones.
The Greggs Foundation, which receives a percentage of the bakery chain鈥檚 profits as well as income from other fundraising activities, has published its 2024 impact report to outline work done in a number of areas. The Foundation aims to address issues of poverty and inequality and support local community groups around the country, particularly in the North East.
2024 saw Greggs鈥 breakfast club network top 1,000 schools around the country, with Government backing for school breakfast clubs allowing the Foundation to outline plans to add after school and holiday support for schools. The organisation also gave out more than 拢5.4m in grants during the year, a 拢2m increase in the total annual grants distributed by the Foundation in the space of two years.
The Foundation鈥檚 Community Grants programme gave support to organisations working in a range of sectors, including young people, financial hardship, homelessness, mental health support and community centres. There were also hardship grants offered to families and individuals in need which supported the purchase of hundreds of fridges, freezers, cookers, tumble dryers and other essential domestic equipment.
The Foundation said: 鈥淟ast year was a year of growth and evolution as we looked at ways to deepen our impact - all with the unwavering support of our partners, Greggs colleagues and supporters.
鈥淎 key highlight of 2024 was reaching our milestone of 1,000 Breakfast Clubs now open in 海角视频 schools. This is a target we have long worked towards, and it was a particularly proud moment that we were delighted to be able to share with our supporters. Awarding over 拢5m into communities for the first time was also a huge step forward and something we hope to build on further this year.
鈥淲e have been especially proud to introduce our new school initiative, Feeding Brighter Futures. This programme is designed to ensure equal access to extracurricular and enrichment activities in schools for all children. By investing in the opportunities available to the next generation, we鈥檙e helping to build stronger foundations for brighter futures - ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive, both in and out of the classroom.鈥
Looking ahead, the Foundation said it wanted to help communities by focussing on programmes that prevented hardship. As part of that it will be working with the Rank Foundation on a project in Sunderland that aims to boost the resilience and sustainability of local not-for-profit organisations by developing greater revenue opportunities.
