The Invesco Cares Foundation Donates Over £250K to Mental Health Charity
The Invesco Cares Foundation can confirm it has donated over £260,000 to mental health organisation CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), its Charity of the Year for 2020 and 2021.
The money was raised in a variety of ways, which this year included a record-breaking employee salary sacrifice scheme, a sponsored open water swim the length of Lake Ullswater, and the annual Invesco Charity Challenge- a triathlon travelling from Invesco’s EMEA Head Office in Henley-on-Thames to the London office in Portman Square. All funds raised were then matched by the Invesco Cares Foundation.
Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM, said “I would like to thank everyone at Invesco for the last two years. It was a great partnership to begin with but the amazing gesture of sticking with us through the pandemic really made a difference, helping us through a really difficult time.”
Claire Myers, Invesco’s Charity & Community Engagement Manager said, “Since the beginning of lockdown, CALM’s helpline has answered over 190,000 potentially life-saving calls and chats, and we are privileged to have been able to contribute a record-breaking amount to such a vital cause. As a firm, we have also benefitted hugely from their educational work that has encouraged us to take a more proactive approach to support our colleagues’ mental health.”
Influenced by the charity partnership, over the last 18 months Invesco has made a huge amount of progress in the mental wellbeing space. There are now over 60 employees in EMEA who have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders. As well as receiving MHFA England training, they also attended a CALM Champion workshop, which not only helped them to learn more about CALM, but also gave them vital training on how to signpost people who are struggling with their mental health and the most effective language to use.
Gemma Gove, Mental Wellbeing committee lead for Invesco said “I have been lucky enough to work with an amazing group of people to make great progress with making mental illness a conversation to have comfortably. We have a long way to go, but have come so far.”
