Charities get ‘Big Break’ thanks to Sembcorp Bournemouth Water

20th September 2013

Sue Miles, Julia's House; Beccy Payne, Diverse Abilities Plus; Graham Callaghan of Bacs; Elaine Higgs, SBW and Farah Batchelor, CLIC Sargent.

The Big Break initiative, which has seen £150,000 raised for charities and good causes across the country, encouraged participating organisations to donate to a nominated charity every time a new Direct Debit was set-up between February 1 and June 30.

The campaign was run by Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs) in association with more than 90 organisations including Sembcorp Bournemouth Water.

SBW customers helped raise £500 for CLIC Sargent and also £250 each for Diverse Abilities Plus and Julia's House after opting to pay their water bills by Direct Debit.

SBW also donated £1 to WaterAid for each of the 2,706 customers who transferred resulting in a separate sum of £2,706 being presented to the charity.

Roger Harrington, SBW's Managing Director, said: "“We are delighted to have raised this money for four such deserving causes.

"We’d like to thank our customers for getting involved. Not only will they be able to benefit from the convenience of Direct Debit payments, but they have also helped WaterAid, CLIC Sargent, Diverse Abilities Plus and Julia's House continue their good work.”

Graham Callaghan, Bacs' Senior Market Sector Manager, added: “This year’s campaign has been incredibly successful and overall we, together with our partners, have helped to raise over £150,000 for charities and good causes.

"We are delighted that so many organisations, including Sembcorp Bournemouth Water, have been involved this year and I’d like to thank everyone for making a difference.”

This year’s Bacs’ Big Break campaign has been the most successful yet, with involvement from over 90 organisations across a range of sectors, including utilities, housing associations, local authorities and SMEs.