Charity of the Year - Affinity Workforce

Our 2024/25 Charity of the Year

We are proud to partner with Shelter as our Charity of the Year. Shelter is a housing and homelessness charity, that exists to defend the right to a safe home.

In February 2024, there were 142,490 children who were homeless – a jump of 16,960 (14%) in a year. There are 279,400 people living in temporary accommodation – most of whom are families. Government figures reveal that almost half (47%) of families who are homeless in temporary accommodation have been there for more than two years. The housing emergency is having a huge effect on the communities we work in.

Affinity is fundraising for Shelter to support its mission to solve the housing emergency and make sure that every family has a home. Shelter’s work to provide support, free legal advice and campaigns to change the system are a lifeline for thousands of people.

Learn more about Shelter

Money we’ve raised for Shelter so far

Throughout the year, we are committed to supporting Shelter by organising a variety of fundraising events. Our efforts aim to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need. Below, you can see the total amount we have raised so far this year. Your continued support and participation in our events will help us reach our goals. Thank you for your generosity and dedication to this important cause.

Give it Up Charity Fundraiser

The Give it Up challenge asks participants to give up something they love for one month. Whether you’re a coffee lover, obsessed with chocolate or fancy going veggie, this challenge asks that you commit to giving something up for one month and asking for sponsorship from friends, family and colleagues.

In total we raised a grant total of £533 for Shelter. All money raised went directly to Shelter to support its mission to end the housing emergency.

Read our blog

Conference Charity Raffle

One of the highlights of our conference this year was the charity raffle we organised in support Shelter. Our sponsors donated a range of prizes including a signed Birmingham football t-shirt and a £250 holiday voucher. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the event.

We are proud to announce that, thanks to the collective efforts and donations of everyone involved, we successfully raised a total of £1560 for Shelter!

Read our blog

How we’re supporting Shelter

Across the year, we’ll be running four fundraising activities. Keep your eyes peeled for more information.

Every donation helps:

Just £5 could help fund a webchat providing essential emergency housing advice
Donating £10 could help answer an urgent call to the Shelter helpline
£50 enables one of Shelter’s legal advisers to complete an application for legal aid funding
£100 helps pay for legal advice to help a family in crisis keep their home

As well as fundraising for Shelter, we’ll be setting up Donation Stations at each of our office locations. Staff will be to donate clothes to be sold in Shelter charity shops, supporting both Shelter’s goals and our sustainable business goals.

Donate here

Why we’re supporting Shelter

Our CEO, Esme Bianchi-Barry explains why Shelter is our charity of the year:

“Last Christmas, 140,000 children spent Christmas without a home. The number of homeless households in the UK is the highest it’s ever been.

At Affinity, we are using our platform to support change. The important work that Shelter does with children living in temporary and unsuitable accommodation is closely linked to our own work – we know that housing and education effect life outcomes. Right now, there is a cost-of-living crisis and a housing emergency, we all need to step up and do more. Affinity is engaging our national workforce to fundraise for Shelter’s work and support their campaigns for change.”

Meet our Charity Champions

Across our business, our Social Impact Champions drive engagement with our charity partnership. They encourage our team to get involved with fundraising initiatives and help to drive new and innovative ways that we can support our charity of the year.