Childbase Partnership is celebrating one of its own being recognised for outstanding contributions to charity and voluntary organisations in the Kings Birthday Honours List 2024.

Lucy Thompson, who established the charity fundraising department at employee-owned Childbase Partnership, has been awarded the British Empire Medal as the company celebrates nearly £4 million to worthy causes during its 35-year history.

Paying tribute to Lucy, Emma Rooney, chief executive officer at Childbase Partnership, which has 44 award-winning day nurseries in the South of England, said:

“Lucy revolutionised our approach to ‘giving back’ with processes that support our committed fundraisers company wide and maximise our reach. A tireless supporter and active participant in a variety of challenges, Lucy has enabled us to make a real and meaningful difference in thousands of lives over the years.”

Lucy, a head of charity and, following 33 years at the company, one of its longest serving employee-owners at her retirement in 2022, said:

“I am hugely surprised and enormously grateful to the many people who have supported me over the years and made this honour possible. I was, and continue to be, in awe of my colleagues companywide whose generosity, creativity and dedication to fundraising and voluntary work is simply extraordinary.”

Lucy established a network of Charity representatives – one in each Childbase Partnership setting – to coordinate local activity and introduced an annual company-wide vote to pick a charity for a focused, year-long fund-raising and awareness drive.

In 2009 she established a company Charity Fund and application process to provide grant aid – separate to general fund-raising – to local worthy causes and small volunteer groups nominated by staff and parents. A total of 141 organisations – from national and international charities to little-known local groups – have benefited to the tune of £150,020 from the fund since then.

The British Empire Medal also recognises Lucy’s volunteering activity in and outside the company.

“It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to work with a number of voluntary and charitable organisations and see first-hand how many lives they have transformed as a result. There is no greater reward then that and I would encourage everyone to consider getting involved either with fund-raising or volunteering”, said Lucy.

Fundraising donations alone at Childbase have topped £3, 737,781 to date and include a record £240,000 to Cancer Research UK in 2022. The Childbase Partnership Charity of the Year 2024 is the British Heart Foundation.