STAFF at Nationwide are giving £130,000 to help support homeless children after holding a staff Christmas jumper day.

The money, which was partially given as a corporate donation and partly as a result of staff fundraising, will go to national homeless charity Shelter.

The money will go towards supporting around 80,000 children nationally who will wake up without a home this Christmas.

Stephen Uden, head of Citizenship at Nationwide Building Society said: “Our work with Shelter to help people facing homelessness find and keep homes of their own, feels more vital than ever at this time of the year. It’s fantastic to see such enthusiastic support from our employees and members to raise both awareness and money for Shelter’s Christmas Appeal.”

Around £6,000 of the total was raised for the charity after staff at the Swindon based building society held a dress down day, with members of staff across Nationwide’s administration centres and at their head office pulling on their Christmas jumpers in response to the Shelter Christmas Appeal.

They also held a charity auction, and the company also ran its annual shoebox appeal with staff creating and donating more than 600 shoeboxes packed with gifts and treats for the people you use Shelter to enjoy.