Leading Thames Valley law firm Blandy & Blandy, which has offices in Reading and Henley-on-Thames, has adopted two new charities based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

The firm will be supporting The Royal Berks Charity and BIBS (Babies in Buscot Support) from July 1, 2020, for a two-year period.

The two charities, which will follow on from Age UK Berkshire and The League of Friends of the Royal Berkshire Hospital, were chosen by Blandy & Blandy’s staff, after more than 80 causes applied to be considered.

Chairman Brenda Long said: “We bid a fond farewell to our outgoing charities, who have been a pleasure to work with, and offer a warm welcome to The Royal Berks Charity and BIBS, two local charities serving the Royal Berkshire Hospital and aiding frontline NHS staff who need and deserve greater support now more than ever.”

We are firmly committed to supporting local charities and good causes helping the communities that we are proud to be a part of and we look forward to fundraising for both charities over the next two years.”

Jo Warrior, director at the Royal Berks Charity, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen by the staff at Blandy and Blandy as one of their adopted charities. Their support will help us to continue to fund projects that enhance patient care and wellbeing through investing in state-of-the-art equipment, improving the hospital environment, supporting staff education, and research. We are very much looking forward to working with them over the next two years and say a huge thank you for choosing us.”

Sarah Critchley, chief executive of BIBS, added: “Babies in Buscot Support (BIBS) is delighted to have been chosen for this two-year partnership. As a small charity, founded over 30 years ago by parents of former Buscot Neonatal Ward babies, this will enable us to continue making a big local impact in our mission to save tiny lives.

“This news comes at a very challenging time for our charity, as a direct consequence of the global pandemic. Knowing that we have secured a long term partnership, with Blandy & Blandy, a firm with such a history of successful fundraising, is a real blessing for the future of our charity, the NHS staff and Buscot babies and families we support. We are incredibly grateful to everyone at Blandy & Blandy for this opportunity.”

Fiona Price, chief executive of Age UK Berkshire, thanked the firm for its support: “Age UK Berkshire was proud to work with Blandy & Blandy as one of their charities, alongside The League of Friends of the RBH. The wide and varied fundraising efforts by the team have made a real difference to Age UK Berkshire and the support that we offer older people across the Berkshire area.”

Blandy & Blandy has donated more than £100,000 to local charities in recent years, generated through a wide range of staff-led initiatives, while also continuing to support events such as the Reading Pancake Race, the Reading Santa Run and The Reading Legal Walk and volunteering at and delivering donations to the Readifood food bank.

The firm is also widely recognised for its expertise and experience in providing legal services to local and national charities.

For further information, please visit www.blandy.co.uk.