Charity partnership announced

Exeter-based recruitment experts, Cathedral Appointments, has formed a partnership with local children’s charity, Balloons, to run throughout 2024.

The team have selected Balloons as their chosen charity for the year for their work supporting bereaved children and young people across Exeter, East and Mid Devon.

And the partnership is a first for the agency, with Balloons selected by the 10-strong team from a list of well-deserving local charities.

Cathedral Appointments, which has been operating for more than 35 years, has undertaken a number of charitable and local initiatives to improve opportunities for emerging talent and support business growth, with a charity partner the latest addition to their support.

The chosen charity, Balloons, has been providing support to bereaved children and young people when someone significant in their lives dies since 2006.

It works alongside families and professionals who care for them to further enhance the support they receive.

In 2023, the charity provided support to 133 individuals through one to one grief support, sent out 217 care packages to bereaved children and young people, and delivered childhood grief training to 100 professionals.

Cathedral Appointments has already begun their donations for the year after opting to forego their annual Christmas cards in favour of a £200 donation to the Balloons team.

Throughout 2024, the team will be supporting Balloons at several fundraising events, providing recruitment advice and guidance where required, as well as taking part in volunteering days.

The recruitment agency operates across the South West region from their Exeter city centre office. With specialisms in finance, engineering, marketing, legal, tech, HR, business operations and more, the team expertly match businesses and the best talent with a 45 percent success rate, more than double the industry average.  

Joanne Caine, Managing Director at Cathedral Appointments, said: “We are looking forward to supporting the team at Balloons over the next 12 months, to help them make a difference to the lives of children and young people across the region.

"A charity partnership is a new undertaking for us at Cathedral Appointments, so we are excited by the opportunity and thankful to the Balloons team for working with us on this partnership. The team and I can’t wait to get started and discover how we can support them this year.”

Nicola Clarke, CEO at Balloons, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as Cathedral Appointments’ Charity of the Year. Their support will enable us to carry on our vital work helping bereaved children and young people come to terms with their loss, build memories and look to the future.”