GWR staff wear their rainbow colours with Pride
Train operator GWR has raised over £2,000 for the Albert Kennedy Trust (akt), through the sale of rainbow lanyards.
A bumper cheque for £2,514.87 was presented to the Albert Kennedy Trust (akt) after staff made donations to wear GWR Pride lanyards, in place of their iconic green ones.
Pics shows L-R back: GWR Andy Adams; Dean Haynes; Alison Scully; Simon Green; akt’s Carrie Reiners; GWR Emma Stephens; Coral Evans; Andrew Fane; Michael Nutman; Jo Akhurst. Kneeling Leigh Fontaine and Joe Graham.
The charity will use the donation to continue its support for young LGBTQ+ people in the UK experiencing homelessness or living in hostile environments.
GWR Engineering Director Simon Green and Business Assurance Director Joe Graham were joined at London Paddington by GWR staff and akt’s London Services Manager Leigh Fontaine.
Also present was GWR special #trainbow Intercity Express Train, celebrating the summer of Pride events which have been held across the West of England and South Wales.
Joe Graham said:
“Once again our staff have shown their support for the LGBTQ+ community across the GWR network and we’re delighted to have made this donation to such a deserving charity as the akt.”
The Albert Kennedy Trust’s Director of Services Lucy Bowyer said the money would be used to support young LGBTQ+ people to find safe homes, employment, education or training.
Lucy said:
“We celebrate our 30th anniversary this year and rely on donations like this to help support thousands of young LGBTQ+ people to improve their life outcomes. We would like to thank everyone at GWR for helping to celebrate diversity and helping to support the work of the akt.”
Notes to editors
Great Western Railway (GWR) provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services. We help over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year - across South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.
We’re currently seeing the biggest investment in the network since Brunel so we can offer more trains, more seats, and shorter, more frequent journeys and continue the network’s heritage of helping connect more businesses to new and prosperous markets. Through a series of initiatives we aim to be a good neighbour to the communities we serve and are committed to making a positive social impact in those regions. Learn how we're Building a Greater West at GWR.com. GWR is a FirstGroup company.