A CHIPPENHAM charity is celebrating, after a truly life changing donation from a Canadian bank.

The Rainbow Trust children’s charity will receive a staggering £160K from Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) ‘Charity Day for the Kids’ which took place on Wednesday, June 16.

Rainbow Trust was selected as one of six UK youth-focused charities to benefit from RBC Capital Market’s virtual global charity event, which in total raised over US$5 Million for over 50 youth-focused charities worldwide. The other UK beneficiaries are Great Ormond Street Hospital, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, Demelza Hospice Care for Children, Teenage Cancer Trust and Ronald McDonald House Charities UK.

The Rainbow Trust supports families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

When a child has a serious illness, family life is turned upside down and time becomes more precious than ever.

Rainbow Trust pairs each family with an expert family support worker who enables them to make the most of time together, giving them practical and emotional support, whenever they need it, for as long as is needed.

The Covid-19 pandemic has piled further unimaginable pressure onto these parents and children, and the charity’s family support workers continue to provide a lifeline to them.

Zillah Bingley, chief executive of Rainbow Trust said: “What an incredible and hugely generous donation of £160K from RBC.

“The news of this donation could not have come at a better time. It has been an immensely tough year for the families who have a life-threatened or terminally ill child and have had to cope with the additional extreme pressure of a pandemic.

“This very significant support and donation from RBC is enough to support 90 families with a seriously ill child for an entire year.

“We are absolutely delighted to have been selected by RBC for the second year running and we look forward to continue our partnership in the future.”

Derek Neldner, CEO and Group Head of RBC Capital Markets added: “Charities and non-profits globally, and in particular those supporting youth mental health services, continue to feel significant strain brought on by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is a growing need to provide necessary support services and resources to navigate these extremely challenging times and RBC and its employees are proud to rally support for these worthy initiatives.

“RBC Charity Day for the Kids is one of the many ways in which our employees and clients have the opportunity to learn more about supporting our youth through direct engagement with our charity partners.

“We thank our charity partners for their commitment to helping revive our communities, as well as our employees and clients for living our culture of giving.”

To find out more about Rainbow Trust and their work in the community, visit rainbowtrust.org.uk

Formerly known as “RBC Trade for the Kids” the annual fundraising event has raised US$20.2 million for 100 youth-focused charity partners around the world since it began in 2017. This year’s global RBC Charity Day for the Kids event has expanded to more countries around the world and is focused not just on donations but also on promoting the efforts of our charity partners to support young people.

In the UK, where RBC Charity Day for the Kids celebrated its fifth year, former patients, families and staff from six charities made the day compelling by sharing their heart-felt stories and surprise reactions with RBC staff when the donation amount was revealed.