Following a successful year, during which two major turbine outages were completed at the power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, the turbine outage team at Drax continued its annual tradition of raising money for charity. This year the total reached £5,000, the largest amount ever raised.
The money raised was split between the two food banks and ‘Baby Dinosaurs’, a local charity selling pre-loved toys at an affordable price. Drax members of the union Unite, also donated a cheque of £200 to each food bank in addition to the £5,000 raised by Drax.
Employees across the power station also contributed to the Christmas cheer through a food bank appeal. Throughout December, employees donated food, toiletries and other treats to help make sure local people who may be struggling with food poverty can enjoy Christmas.
In total 262 kilos were donated, consisting of tins, packets and jars of goods.
Vicky Bullivant, Drax’s head of sustainable business, said:
“Christmas is a time for giving and sharing. At Drax we recognise the vital work of the local food banks and employees across the business have contributed to the total raised – with special thanks to the turbine outage team for their outstanding fundraising efforts this year.
“The smallest donation can make a big difference to someone who is struggling financially – especially at this time of year. We hope that everyone in our communities has a happy Christmas.”
The donations were delivered to two local food banks: Selby and District Foodbank and Mission Trinity at Goole Methodist Church.
Mark Barnett from Selby and District Foodbank said:
“Receiving donations like this from Drax make a huge difference to the number of people we can help at Christmas – a time which can be very difficult for people facing financial difficulties. Food poverty is a growing issue in the UK with one in five of the population living below the poverty line.”
Caroline Sample from Mission Trinity at Goole Methodist Church said:
“We want to say a big thank you to everyone at Drax who has helped raise this money or donated food and other items this Christmas – it will mean a lot to the people who need our help at this time of year.”
The Selby and District Foodbank is one of 1,200 foodbanks supported by the Trussell Trust’s Foodbank Network. Between April 2018 and March 2019, Trussell Trust food banks provided a record 1.6 million food supplies to people in crisis.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Lily Pettifar
Drax Group Media Intern
[email protected]
07719 559 556
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,900-strong employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
Customers:
Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:
- Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
- Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
