STAFF at Haines Watts in Old Town have pledged to continue their efforts after raising thousands of pounds for good causes over the past year.

One of the partners Sue Plumb, who specialises in working with, and supporting, charities and the not-for-profit sector explained many organisations have struggled for funding over the last two years with planned fund-raising events and campaigns being cancelled, postponed or taken online because of Covid.

“As we work with charities on a day to day basis, we were all acutely aware of the unprecedented challenges they have faced during the pandemic," she said.

“As a team we’ve always been community and charity minded and we’ve done all we can to continue in that vein in 2021 and in 2022. We believe it’s good for our team and it’s also good for business.”

Last year, the Haines Watts team sponsored the U14 Swindon Spitfires football team which included providing a team kit for the girls, their coach and manager. Founded in 1967, they are one of the oldest women’s and girls’ football clubs in England.

It sponsored, donated prizes and entered a team in the annual Wrag Barn Golf Day in Highworth for HFT which is a national charity, founded in 1962 to support adults with learning disabilities.

The charity pioneered the idea that adults with learning disabilities have the right to choices about how they live to enable them to lead the best life possible including supported independent living. This event raised more than £8,000. It exceeded the charity’s objective of building a recycling facility for one of their communal housing complexes and they were able to fund three other recycling facilities.

The team also offered its office as a safe collection point for the Swindon Christmas Toy Appeal which provided more than 3,000 toys and books to 923 children in the town – 200 more children than the previous year.

And it contributed to a donation of £1,250 for Save The Children for Christmas Jumper Day from Haines Watts nationally.

Managing partner Mike Lloyd said: “We have plans to keep taking part in community events this year. We will once again be sponsoring the Wrag Barn Golf Day in May and we’re currently working with some other organisations to see how we can support them. We have a wonderful caring community in Swindon and Wiltshire and we’re proud to play a small part in that.”

Haines Watts is the 15th largest accountancy brand in the UK and was named Accountancy Firm of the Year 2019 in the FDs’ excellence awards. In 2021 it was named as one of the UK’s Top Ten accountancy practices to work for.