Hard working staff and generous passengers in London have boosted the fortunes of the Railway Children charity with a cheque for almost £52,000.
Staff at London Underground helped calculate money left on soon-to-expire Oyster cards donated by the public to the Railway Children. Cards are collected in special boxes at four London stations: King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Heathrow Airport and Heathrow Terminal 4.
The Oyster card donation scheme has been running since 2007. Last year the tourist boom for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and Olympics helped swell the proceeds of the scheme. A better designed collection box was introduced in December 2011 and since then the number of cards donated at participating stations has increased.
Alan Mundy, who has worked hard to keep the scheme on track, headed the delegation for London Underground that handed over the cheque at King’s Cross. The cheque for £51,857.48 represented the proceeds of Oyster cards donated by customers over a 33 month period from March 2010 to December 2012.
The Railway Children’s Corporate Programmes Manager, Dave Ellis, praised the generosity of London Underground’s customers and the efforts of railway staff who operate the scheme. Dave expressed his thanks to all the staff that had contributed to the success of the scheme by ensuring the boxes were positioned and emptied regularly.
LU staff also have to record and process the refunds on the donated cards. Says Dave, ‘Every single person involved is helping us to fight for children who live alone and at risk on the streets.’ The Railway Children works with street children and young runaways both in Britain and overseas. It remains the charity of choice for many in the industry.
