Community Support

Jet and Ben 'Leeds' the way

Leeds Building Society has teamed up with the well known and lovable labradors, Jet and Ben, to support the "Say No To Strangers" campaign delivered to primary schools in County Durham and Darlington. The initiative has been operating for many years and over 120,000 children have benefited from this important and informative programme, which has now been extended to include the internet.

Leeds Building Society, in association with the charity Durham Agency Against Crime (DAAC), has launched the instant access Jet and Ben affinity savings account. Each year, the Society will make a donation equivalent to 1% of the average balance held in all the accounts to the DAAC and support the excellent work carried out by Police Community Support Officer, Claire Kerr, and her cute and cuddly colleagues, Jet and Ben.

As Robin Greenwell, branch manager at Leeds Building Society explains, this initiative is built around providing a meaningful financial contribution and a sustainable fundraising mechanism for DAAC. He said,

"This account is a fantastic way for customers to support Jet and Ben. Normally, when people are asked to support charity it means giving money out of their own pocket. Opening an account means that your funds actually grow and support this very important programme through the Society’s 1% donation. Therefore, for every £1m of balances, DAAC receive £10,000."

John Stoddart, Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary, said,

“In these difficult economic times it is very difficult for many families to make charitable donations. However, the Jet and Ben ‘Say No To Strangers’ initiative is vital to engaging with and communicating to the young children in the area, and this account provides us with an ongoing contribution to enable us to deliver key safety messages in an ever changing world."

PCSO handler Claire Kerr added,

“Our children are growing up in an environment where the risks in terms of stranger danger are constantly changing and there is no doubt that Jet and Ben enable us to deliver very important messages. We cannot underestimate the excellent role these fantastic dogs play in protecting our young people.”

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Leeds Building Society is a member of the Building Societies' Association. The Society is a participant in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Payments under the Scheme are limited to a maximum of £50,000 of an investor's total shares and/or deposits in a society. Most investors are covered, including individuals and small firms. A small number of categories of shares and deposits are not covered, for example deferred shares - permanent interest bearing shares. Although most shares and deposits are denominated in sterling, all other currencies are covered. Further details are available on request from the Society.

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