4Louis work with grieving families given £75,000 boost thanks to call centre firm's coronavirus cash fund

Sunderland customer services firm BGL Group has given a much-needed boost to baby and child loss charity, 4Louis, which is also based in the city.

The firm has launched a £1.5 million community campaign Empower, Pledge, Donate to support charities impacted by coronavirus.

4Louis, which was launched by Kirsty McGurrell and her family after the death of her first son Louis 12 days before his due date in 2009, is one of BGL’s six charity partners.

Each has received an initial boost of between £50,000 and £100,000 under the campaign.

Tracey McGurrell, trustee and founder of 4Louis, said: “Like all charities, we are under huge pressure because all of our fundraising events have had to stop, so this £75,000 will make a huge difference to us.

“We had been having sleepless nights worrying where this charity was going to be after COVID-19.

“We’d like to thank everyone at BGL for their support - because we don’t know where we would be without it.”

BGL has a major contact centre in Sunderland and is home to brands including comparethemarket.com, LesFurets.com, Beagle Street, Budget and Dial Direct.

It joined forces with 4Louis in October 2018 and donated £50,000 to build a bereavement suite at the University Hospital of North Durham.

Its team continue to support it with regular volunteering and fundraising.

Company chief executive, Matthew Donaldson, said: “Our colleagues are passionate about supporting their communities in a whole range of ways and they’ve already been doing whatever they can to help others.

“The current global situation has made everybody really take a step back and think about their communities in a different way and we’re no exception.”

The remainder of the funds will be available for applications through its community committees, which also includes representatives from its other offices in Peterborough, Wakefield, London and Paris.

Charities wishing to apply for funding can email [email protected] outlining the purpose of the charity, how much funding they are seeking and what the money would be used for.

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