Denise Coates donates £10m grant to Covid-19 relief efforts
Bet365 CEO’s foundation provides funding to University Hospitals of North Midlands
Bet365 CEO Denise Coates has awarded a £10m grant to the University Hospitals of North Midlands charity (UHNM) through her charity foundation to provide support to the organisation during the coronavirus pandemic.
UHNM said the grant will enable it to deliver on several significant schemes to enhance patient care and provide support to staff at the Royal Stoke Hospital and County Hospital, Stafford.
UHNM chief executive Tracy Bullock said the grant would help fund several schemes, including improvements in communication technology between clinicians, patients and their families.
Bullock added the funding would enable UHNM to prioritise the wellbeing of its staff caring for Covid-19 patients.
“We are also delighted that plans to redevelop our Cancer Centre can be brought forward and will have a legacy far beyond Covid-19 to protect our vulnerable cancer patients, and for this we offer our deepest and sincerest thanks,” Bullock said.
The Denise Coates Foundation aims to distribute funds in support of local, national and international charitable activities. It can award grants to arts, environmental, sports and community-based initiatives, as well as to individuals.
The grant is the largest awarded by the foundation since it began in 2012.
The bet365 CEO said the foundation’s trustees were committed to supporting UHNM throughout “demanding circumstances”.
“This is why I and the other Trustees felt we had to step forward and approach the UHNM to see what we could do to help,” said Coates.
“We are sure that the funding the Foundation provides will make a huge difference to the Hospital, the staff and more broadly the people of North Staffordshire and the surrounding area,” she added.
Bet365 has donated over £346m to the Foundation since it was created.
Last month, bet365 confirmed it would pay its 4,600-person workforce throughout the coronavirus shutdown and had put in place a multi-million-pound package to support employees over a five-month period.