More than £19,000 was raised in a year to help support a suicide prevention charity.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has handed over a cheque of £19,102.62 to St Albans based the OLLIE Foundation - a charity set up by three parents who all lost their teenage sons to suicide.

The team from Taylor Wimpey North Thames have been busy with a host of fundraising events throughout and the money raised will go towards supporting the charity’s aim to prevent youth suicide by providing vital suicide intervention training in order to create suicide safer communities.

The OLLIE Foundation was founded in May 2016 by Stuart Falconer, Chris Sibley and Jane Johnstone. The charity delivers a range of suicide awareness talks and training courses focusing on suicide prevention, intervention and alertness to possible warning signs. Two dedicated trainers from the charity, as well as a team of volunteers, visit schools and community groups in and around Hertfordshire to increase awareness of suicide and the impact it can have on people’s lives. mental health.

Verity Bramwell, operations manager of OLLIE, said: “We are immensely grateful to Taylor Wimpey North Thames for their tremendous fundraising efforts and support. Their sizeable donation will help OLLIE cover some of our core costs, which every charity incurs, but are often difficult to fund. In addition to the fundraising, we are also grateful for the opportunities Peter has given us to have educational and informative conversations about mental health and suicide within the workplace.”

Peter Gurr, managing director of Taylor Wimpey North Thames, added: “The OLLIE foundation does such important work in raising awareness of suicide and helping to support those who have been affected by it. We were delighted to be able to provide the charity with a donation which we hope will help them to maintain and develop the fantastic services they already provide in and around St Albans.”