Barclays has announced that its Charity of the Year for 2012 is Crossroads Care

Each year, staff from Barclays are asked to nominate a charity they would like to see benefit from their fundraising activities for the year. In 2011 over £46,000 was raised for Hospice Isle of Man.

Crossroads was established in the Isle of Man in 1988 and its aim is to help improve the lives of carers and to offer practical support and advice to carers, their families and people with care needs. Each year Crossroads provides over 50,000 hours of respite and 50,000 of meaningful support so that carers can have a few valuable hours to themselves to relax and do all of the things most people take for granted.

Jackie Betteridge, CEO of Crossroads Care said: ‘Anybody can become a carer at any time; it is not exclusive to any particular segment of our society and can happen over a period of time or in seconds. Looking after somebody with a disability or illness can be very stressful, many carers lose their identities and the impact on their life can be devastating. We employ over 80 people in the Island to help take over the responsibility so that carers can have a few hours to themselves. At present it costs over £1 million per year to provide our services and so being named as the Barclays Charity of the Year is a real boost for us. We are very much looking forward to working with the team in the coming twelve months!’

Chair of the Barclays Charity Committee Stuart Nelson said: ‘Our staff are excited by the prospect of helping to raise money for such a worthwhile local charity. We are planning a number of events throughout the year to really help boost fundraising. As an employer we feel it is important to support the fundraising efforts of our staff through a number of initiatives including a £ for £ scheme and allowances for people who volunteer their time to help raise money for worthwhile causes. I am proud to be part of an organisation that is so active in its local fundraising.’