The new president of East Midlands Chamber has selected three charities from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to benefit from fundraising activities over the next year.

Eileen Richards MBE has chosen Chesterfield Samaritans, Help the Homeless Leicester and Nottinghamshire Hospice as part of the Chamber’s Charitable Fund.

Fundraising activities will be planned throughout the year, while the Chamber is working with the Investors in Community platform, which enables employees and businesses to donate to projects online and monitor volunteering.

Eileen said: “I am delighted to introduce my three chosen charities during my presidential year as Chesterfield Samaritans, Help the Homeless Leicester and Nottinghamshire Hospice.

“Supporting charitable causes is incredibly important to me and the work that these three charities are doing is making a life-changing, positive impact to the members in our society that they support.

“I am really looking forward to working alongside these fantastic organisations and already have plans and ideas.”

The Chamber’s Charitable Fund, which was set up in 2015 to give the Chamber a platform for supporting member charities, is administered by Chamber member Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation.

During the AGM, it was announced that £2,800 had been raised over the past year, including from the 2019 annual Christmas lunch, pre-lockdown activities such as networking events and staff dress-down days, and individual donations.

The funding pot will be split evenly between outgoing president Dawn Edwards’ chosen charities – Chesterfield Canal Trust, The Mighty Creatives and Young Enterprise East Midlands.

Dawn said: “The sum raised is greater than we had hoped and is testimony to our members’ sense of community, which has galvanised over the past few challenging months.

“Despite the lack of face-to-face events, there is still room for generosity and kindness, and I am proud to have been able to play a small part in providing funds to these three fantastic charities.”

Eileen, who owns ER Recruitment in Leicester, is also a trustee of Hope Against Cancer and a committee member for the Wooden Spoon Leicester charity.