Community
Supporting our local communities has always been an important part of the Watches of Switzerland Group’s culture and our approach to giving continues to be focused on charities with whom we can develop long-standing personal relationships and work together to create change.
In some cases, this means partnering with established national or international charities to fund specific projects or outcomes and in others it means supporting much smaller charities such as food banks with both funding, expertise, and the opportunity to benefit from the wider network we have created.
The Watches of Switzerland Group Foundation was incorporated as a company in October 2020 and was registered as a charity by the UK Charity Commission in November 2021. The initial planned Company donation of £3.0 million across FY21 and FY22 was further enhanced by an additional donation of £1.5 million making a total cash contribution to the Foundation of £4.5 million in FY22.
charities we support in the uk
The Watches of Switzerland Group Foundation achieved its charitable status in November 2021, with the purpose of continuing the Group’s commitment to philanthropic investment in a focussed range of charitable causes. The Foundation, which will bring most of the Group’s charitable activities under one umbrella, has so far been funded by a £4.5million donation from the Watches of Switzerland Group to support local communities with an emphasis on helping vulnerable people in poverty.
As of July 2022, £2.15million of that donation has already been pledged to support projects such as:
- The support to Food Banks in city centre locations in the UK, in response to the growing food poverty crisis, exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. In addition, several Watches of Switzerland colleagues have also supported the food banks with over 300 hours of volunteering
- A unique partnership between the Fuel Bank Foundation and the Food Banks which are supported by the Foundation
- The Prince’s Trust core education programmes, supporting over 3400 young people in developing their confidence, resilience, and key skills, along with the launch of a new Education Hub and employability pilot in Leicester
- A donation to Crisis to support the funding of Clinical Psychologists who intensively support a small cohort of members with complex trauma and sit within the wellbeing offer which supports people on their journey out of homelessness
- A new short stay service for young adults at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, the first pilot facility of its type in Scotland
"Our new partnership with The Watches of Switzerland Group Foundation is unique. Through collaborating we will extend and develop Fuel Bank services in around a dozen foodbanks that the Watches of Switzerland Group is already supporting. This will be transformative for the families who are being supported because they will not only receive food, but also the energy needed to cook it."
