ING Bank choose Muscular Dystrophy UK to be their Charity of the Year 2016

Muscular Dystrophy UK recently announced that ING Wholesale Banking’s London office has chosen Muscular Dystrophy UK, along with the Smile with Shiv Family Fund, to be their charity partner for 2016. ING is aiming to raise £30,000 to help develop treatments and cures for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Muscular Dystrophy UK was introduced to ING by Manoj Thakrar, a Client Relationship Manager at the bank. Manoj’s son, Shiv, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2014 when he was just three years old. Following Shiv’s diagnosis, Manoj and his wife, Sejal, set up the Smile with Shiv Family Fund to raise awareness of the muscle-wasting condition and to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Duchenne Research Breakthrough Fund. The team at ING already has some brilliant fundraising events in the calendar including a sports quiz, Indian themed tea and sweets morning and a London to Amsterdam bike ride. They also have someone from their office taking part in our Make Today Count skydive and another running for Muscular Dystrophy UK and Smile with Shiv in this year’s London Marathon. A mixture of employee fundraising and company donations will help the organisation reach their £30,000 target. ING’s volunteering programme allows their staff members to take a paid day away from the office to help support a charitable cause. In addition, with the launch of our Trailblazers’ new Work Experience Programme, we are planning opportunities for ING staff members to hold skills workshops, provide placements and offer their professional services to up-skill young disabled people so they have the confidence and experience to launch their career. Rhys Pullen, Chair of the ING UK Charity Committee, said: "ING is delighted to be working in partnership with Muscular Dystrophy UK and Smile with Shiv in their search for a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We are also excited about sharing professional skills with young disabled people to help them develop their careers.” Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: "We are thrilled and extremely grateful that ING has chosen Muscular Dystrophy UK with Smile with Shiv to be a Charity of the Year for 2016. Working together, we can ensure that the funds raised make the biggest impact possible in supporting world-class research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy and accelerating access to emerging treatments for the condition." In addition to their vital fundraising, ING has the opportunity to support our charity’s Work Experience Programme for young disabled people, through their staff volunteering scheme. With this commitment, ING would help to kickstart the careers of young disabled people, with the opportunity to gain experience and skills, and build self-confidence. Many thanks to everyone at ING for your support. We look forward to working with you.” Additionally, ING has partnered with Dutch startup, Whydonate, to create a contactless charity collection box to help keep the charity sector innovative in a time when cash is being used less frequently. According to ING, the box was created in only a matter of days, in collaboration with Whydonate at ING’s innovation lab ICEC. It will be introduced as a pilot in 2017 in the Netherlands. “The idea is perfect for charities wishing to embark on door-to-door fundraising, a method that has suffered a downturn in recent years. Recent studies by ING’s Economics Bureau show that 52 percent of consumers don’t usually keep cash in their house,” ING spokesperson said in a statement.