Corporate

British Energy's staff have chosen Help the Hospices as their charity of the year for 2006-7, the third year that the company has partnered with a national charity. Last year the company raised more than £350,000 for The Prince's Trust.

Thousands of employees from Centrica, whose brands include British Gas and Dyno, have raised more than £370,000 for NCH, the children's charity, through their year-long campaign 'Helping Children Shine'. The company contributed an additional £30,000 making a total donation of £400,000.

Virgin Mobile staff are planning to raise more than £50,000 for two charities by covering 500 miles by bike in one week in the 'Big Ride 2006'.

The Big Ride is a week's long bicycle ride, starting in Middlesbrough on 22 May, travelling via the Virgin Mobile Head Office in Trowbridge, and finishing in London's Leicester Square, a total distance of more than 500 miles.

Nationwide Life has announced that it will be making a donation to the charity Macmillan Cancer Support of £1 for every life assurance, critical illness and income protection policy that it sells between 2 May and 31 July 2006.

Registered charities will be able to get free property and construction consultancy with the launch of a new scheme aimed at encouraging and facilitating corporate social responsibility amongst surveyors, architects, engineers and other property related consultants.

Butlins has launched butlinsbingo.com as the first of a number of initiatives in 2006 to raise awareness among the public of the work of the men's cancer campaign Everyman.

The British Heart Foundation has been nominated as charity of the year for 2006 by high street travel retailer, Flight Centre.

Alliance UniChem has donated £50,000 to Macmillan Cancer Support to help fund the Mobile Macmillan Cancer Information Centre tour, which takes Macmillan's information and support services to high streets across Britain.