Local company provides a flourishing start to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s Isle of Man Branch for 2011. A local corporate and trust service provider has donated over ?1,000 to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s Isle of Man branch after it was selected as their charity of choice for their latest financial quarter. Abacus, whose Corporate Responsibility Committee selects a different charity each quarter, raised a total of ?1,052.30 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s Isle of Man Branch, through their “Charity Salary Deduction Scheme” recently. Member of Abacus’ Corporate Responsibility Committee, Lorraine Boyd, said: “The Corporate Responsibility Committee is made up of a group of staff members who organise and develop an assortment of fundraising initiatives throughout the year, raising money for the charity of each quarter as well as some others in additional ad-hoc fundraising events. We are lucky that the staff always show interest and offer full support to any initiatives we organise, consequently helping to benefit a number of worthwhile charities and projects throughout the year.” The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is a charity that does so much work other than providing mobility and freedom to blind and partially sighted people. Their work extends to educating the general public about eye care, campaigning for the rights of people with visual impairment and funding eye disease research, which benefits everyone. We are more than happy to support such a worthwhile charity “ Mrs Karen Callin, committee member for the Isle of Man branch of the charity, said: “The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has been expertly breeding and training guide dogs for over 75 years and has provided dogs to thousands of blind and partially sighted people. On behalf of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, I would like to thank Abacus for their kind donation which will assist us in the continuation of our work both in providing dogs to those who need them but also in delivering confidence- building rehabilitation services and research activities.” The Charity Salary Deduction Scheme was formed by Abacus’ Corporate Responsibility Committee in May 2008 and is available on a voluntary basis to any of it’s’ employees. The scheme offers staff the opportunity to donate a fixed amount each month, for a year, which is deducted from their NET salary. At the end of each quarter, all of the monthly charity salary deductions are collated, the amount of which is then matched by the company to be paid to the selected charity for the particular quarter. The Abacus group of companies are leading corporate and trust service providers, experienced in a wide range of international fiduciary and fund administration services. With offices based in the Isle of Man and Malta, they provide tailor-made and bespoke solutions to a global client base. - ENDS -