Hermes, the consumer delivery specialist, has signed a partnership agreement pledging its support to children’s charity CHICKS.

CHICKS is a national charity that provides free respite breaks to disadvantaged children from all over the UK. Children are referred to CHICKS by professionals, including teachers or social workers, to stay at one of CHICKS’ retreats weekly from February to December in the South West and Derbyshire. The children are accompanied by three fully-trained members of the CHICKS team, and up to six adult volunteers.

Hermes will support CHICKS as its chosen charity partner through fundraising events and swapping skills.
Hugo Martin, legal director at Hermes and chair of Hermes’ CSR Committee, said: “We’re proud to be able to support such a great cause, not only through fundraising, but also by enabling our employees to access volunteering opportunities with CHICKS. We have a large network that takes part in multiple local fundraising events throughout the year, and so to be able to combine this regular support from regional hubs, depots and partners with regular volunteering will hopefully make an impact to enable CHICKS to continue their valuable work with disadvantaged children across the UK.”

Andrew Dean, chief executive, CHICKS, said: “The children that CHICKS help come from a variety of backgrounds. They might be living in poverty, be young carers, be victims of bullying or abuse, or have been bereaved. The one thing they all have in common is that they could really benefit from a week away from their circumstances. Like all charities, being able to sustain and grow our efforts is a huge task and so we’re thrilled that Hermes has chosen to support us, not only by raising funds but also by being able to allow their employees to volunteer and share their skills with us. We’re very much looking forward to collaborating with the Hermes team over the coming months.”