THE first vote in a ballot to decided how a £2,000 charity pot is shared out was cast by Richmond MP Rishi Sunak.
The Yorkshire Building Society’s Charity Choices campaign was launched in Westminster on Monday.
The Society’s branches in Northallerton and Richmond have £1,000 each to split between three local good causes chosen by colleagues and members but who gets the most will be decided by the number of votes received.
The charities in line for a donation in Northallerton are: Mental Health Support In Hambleton & Richmondshire, South Tees Hospitals Charity & Associated Funds - MRI Appeal and The Dales School Fund.
The three in Richmond are: the Georgian Theatre Trust, Just the Job and the Richmond and Catterick Riding for the Disabled Association.
The number of votes received for each charity by Friday, May 20, will determine the amount of money each receives; the one with the most will receive £500, second place will get £300 and £200 will go to the charity in third place.
The campaign is supported by Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation, which is funded by the Small Change, Big Difference® scheme where members donate the pennies from the interest they receive on their accounts, just once a year, to help charities and good causes in their communities.
Lisa Forster, manager of the Yorkshire’s Northallerton branch, said: “We know how important our chosen charities are to our local communities so we’re delighted to be making a donation to help them continue their important work – just how much they receive though will be up to our customers and members of the public.
“In this campaign you will decide which charity gets the most, so we hope as many people as possible will take a minute to pop in and make their vote count.”
A total of 160 branches and agencies around the UK will take part in the 2016 Charity Choices campaign in May, totalling £160,000.
In 2015, the Charitable Foundation paid 1,502 donations totalling £392,276 to good causes and charities throughout the UK.