Stansted Airport passengers dig deep for local good causes
GENEROUS passengers at Stansted Airport have helped pump over �500,000 into local good causes over the past 10 years. The Stansted Airport Passenger Community Fund (SAPCF) is boosted by sterling and foreign coin donations from passengers passing through t
GENEROUS passengers at Stansted Airport have helped pump over �500,000 into local good causes over the past 10 years.
The Stansted Airport Passenger Community Fund (SAPCF) is boosted by sterling and foreign coin donations from passengers passing through the Essex hub.
Special collection bins are located through the airport at departure and arrival channels, and passengers are encouraged to dump any unwanted coins in them. This is then collected and banked, raising between �40,000 and �60,000 a year.
Chairman of the SAPCF committee, Robbie Barrigan, said: "We were concerned that donations might drop when the Euro was introduced. Passengers have continued to be very generous, which makes a real difference to many local good causes."
The committee, which meets monthly, has been running since shortly after the airport opened in 1991 and considers hundreds of requests a year from local good causes, desperate for funds.
"We make donations to groups within a 20 mile radius of the airport. We also support staff in their fundraising for national charities by giving them a fixed contribution of �150," added Mr Barrigan.
Most Read
- 1 Dunmow Rovers Tigers Under 10s celebrate 'fantastic result'
- 2 New speed check groups to start: Rayne duo share experiences
- 3 RideLondon 5 year plan: 900 object to district road closures
- 4 Outdoor theatre shows for all the family set for the National Trust's Hatfield Forest this summer
- 5 Great Dunmow and High Easter take centre stage as Women's Tour of Britain hits town
- 6 Wins for High Roding, Aythorpe Roding and Dunmow cricketers
- 7 High Easter hit Legends with second-half goal blitz
- 8 Can you answer these 10 GCSE questions designed for 16-year-olds?
- 9 Iceland offers over 60s discount on shopping bill every week
- 10 New Mayors and deputies in Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow
In recent years the committee organised an annual summer outing to the seaside for hundreds of local pensioners. Its support for pensioners groups continues and last year it funded coaches for an outing by Hatfield Broad Oak over-60s club.
Other charities to benefit in the past year include Uttlesford Buffy Bus Association, Dogs for the Disabled, Quendon Football Club, First Elsenham and First Widdington Guide groups and Bishop's Stortford Working Men's Club.