ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming, through its staff-led CSR initiative PlayItForward, has donated £30,000 through its 2019 Gift of Giving campaign, bringing total donations to £210,000 since inception.
Gift of Giving is a seasonal voting scheme giving Microgaming operators and partners ‘the gift of giving’, by providing them with the opportunity to donate to worthy causes in their region.
In the 2019 campaign, Microgaming PlayItForward has donated a share of £30,000 between six global charities. The charities that received the highest number of votes in each region were Save the Children (United Kingdom), WaterAid (Africa), Foodbank Lifeline Foundation (Malta), Childline (Gibraltar), and Unicef (Rest of the World), with GamCare winning the vote in the inaugural responsible gambling category.
John Coleman, CEO of Microgaming, comments: “I’d like to thank all of our customers for their generous votes and for supporting our Gift of Giving initiative for the seventh year running. Involving the wider industry in CSR is important to us at Microgaming, which is why we included the new responsible gambling category – giving back is what we are all about. Well done to the winning charities in 2019’s campaign and we hope these donations will help you to keep doing what you do best.”
Save the Children is a global movement that is active in over 100 countries. The organisation transforms millions of children’s lives and ensures their needs are met by keeping them healthy, protecting them from harm and providing them with an education. In the UK, it works with families to narrow the gap between children living in poverty and their better-off classmates. By focusing on early learning, it ensures children across the UK realise their full potential.
Katie Searles, Regional Corporate Partnerships Specialist at Save the Children, comments: “We are incredibly grateful to Microgaming and their customers who voted for Save the Children. This generous donation will help Save the Children continue its work supporting every child to become who they want to be.”
WaterAid works in 28 countries to help communities break free from poverty and change their lives for the better by working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene available to everyone, everywhere. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 27 million people with clean water and 27 million people with decent toilets.
Foodbank Lifeline Foundation was set up in 2015 to provide short-term emergency food provisions for individuals and families who find themselves in need.
Diana Nye, Acting Chairperson at Foodbank Lifeline Foundation, adds: “A huge thank you to Microgaming PlayItForward on behalf of all of us here at Foodbank Lifeline Foundation. We are truly grateful to receive the Gift of Giving vote. The £5,000 donation will go a long way in helping us to continue to provide food packs to people who are struggling to find money for food.”
Childline Gibraltar provide a Helpline service every day of the year, a 24 hour/365 day Appropriate Adult Scheme, Positive Parenting Courses and a local outreach programme aimed at helping children overcome and prevent a variety of issues both big and small.
Annie Green, Chair of Trustees at Childline Gibraltar, comments: “Childline Gibraltar’s Helpline services are available to children and young people every day of the year. It is a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything. In what is proving to be our busiest year to date, this very generous donation will enable us to continue to respond and to support the children who contact us.”
With a presence in over 190 countries and territories, Unicef works to protect children worldwide, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential through fundraising, advocacy and education.
Catriona Parry, Corporate Partnerships Team at Unicef, says: “We’re hugely grateful to receive this gift from Microgaming, which will help Unicef to continue to reach the most vulnerable children around the world, and ensure every child has the chance to survive and thrive.”
GamCare operates the National Gambling HelpLine, providing information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling problems. They provide a range of outreach, education and prevention initiatives working with young people and at-risk groups to minimise gambling-related harm.
Anna Hemmings, CEO at GamCare, adds: “We’re grateful to Microgaming for naming us as beneficiary of the Gift of Giving campaign this year and this will contribute to our wider work in minimising gambling-related harm, helping us to reach the people who need us.”
Gift of Giving scheme has been supporting charities throughout the world since 2013. For more information on Microgaming PlayItForward, visit microgamingplayitforward.co.uk.
About Microgaming PlayItForward
Microgaming PlayItForward was established in 2014 by world-leading software developer, Microgaming, which is headquartered on the Isle of Man. The staff-driven, volunteer-led initiative encompasses all aspects of the award-winning technology company’s longstanding CSR programme, which aims to change the game for people, place and planet.
