Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, Lindens Primary School in Walsall, Cannock-based charity Special Needs Adventure Playground and Grocery Aid have each been granted £5,000 from The Cadbury Foundation, whilst Sandwell Advocacy and Cerebral Palsy Midlands have received £2,500 from the Foundation, as part of Mondelēz International’s ‘Your Charity Your Choice’ scheme.

Each year, the company’s UK employees are invited to nominate wellbeing-related charities or projects close to their hearts, with the final shortlisted charities voted for by the wider work force.

Tom Higgins, a technician from the Bournville-based factory, nominated Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity on behalf of a colleague whose young daughter was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. With the team seeing the support and life-changing work of the hospital first-hand, Tom’s nomination received huge backing from his Bournville-based colleagues.

SNAP is a small charity supporting young people with disabilities to join in with the types of play others may take for granted. Cadbury World’s Operations Manager Tim Gimbert nominated the charity, which will use the grant to add specialist sports equipment to its facility, as well as maintaining the current apparatus that requires additional safety measures.

Colleagues from the company’s distribution centre in Minworth voted to support stock specialist Wayne Hand’s nomination for Lindens Primary School. The school focuses on catering for the needs of all children, with the donation used to support pupils who are dealing with anxiety and depression, as well as enhancing the sensory equipment available on site.

Mondelēz International’s Marlbrook-based employees chose the charity Grocery Aid to receive the £5,000 grant. The charity helps people across the whole of the grocery industry, providing support to members of the industry in times of need, both financially and emotionally and has specifically supported a site employee through a difficult time.

A further £5,000 grant was split between Sandwell Advocacy and Cerebral Palsy West Midlands after a voting tiebreak. The Cadbury Foundation’s donation will aid training courses for the volunteers at Sandwell Advocacy; meanwhile Cerebral Palsy West Midlands are completely reliant on fundraising to get their disabled citizens out into the community, whether that’s to GP appointments, local attractions or accessible holidays.

The Cadbury Foundation, which is celebrating its 85th birthday this year, was set up in 1935 in recognition of Richard and George Cadbury and their investment in the welfare of their employees and the local community. Across all Mondelēz International’s UK sites, £90,000 will be pledged as part of the ‘Your Charity Your Choice’ campaign.

Kelly Farrell, community affairs manager at Mondelēz International, said: “We’re extremely proud to be able to support the charities that are important to our employees through our ‘Your Charity Your Choice’ scheme. Each of the charities selected by our West Midlands based employees represent exactly what this scheme is about.”