Foresters Celebrate 140th Anniversary by Giving Back to the Local Community

Foresters, the international financial services organisation, is celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2014 - they are 140 years old. Local schools benefit from Foresters gift of money for books.

BROMLEY, ENGLAND, July 23, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Founded in 1874, Foresters is a mutual financial services organisation and shares its financial success with more than one million members in Canada, the US and UK and champions the well-being of families, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities.

Foresters, whose UK head office is situated in Bromley, Kent, decided as part of their 140th anniversary celebrations that they would like to continue giving something back to the local community and gift the secondary and primary school nearest to their offices with money towards the purchase of books for students, to enjoy for years to come.

St Marks C of E Primary School and The Ravensbourne School, both within close proximity of Foresters Cromwell Avenue offices, were chosen to receive the donation. Steve Dilworth, Membership Director at Foresters, recently visited both the benefitting schools to formally present a cheque for GBP1400 to the pupils and staff and to see how the money will be put to use within each school.

Senior Staff Member at St Marks, Jenna Titmus, commented, "This is fantastic generosity from Foresters. It will go a long way towards improving our library and our stock of books."

Eileen Roberts, Head Librarian for The Ravensbourne School (TRS), added, "Here at TRS we all carry a reading book at all times, and our new fiction 'hot off the press' will be very popular with all our students. We planned in September to revamp our geography section with a selection of new books on countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Algeria where there have recently been considerable changes. Thanks to Foresters we can do this before the new term begins."

Throughout their 140-year history, Foresters have consistently sought to make a difference within their local community.

Mr. Dilworth comments, "Investing in the community is an important part of who we are. We decided to celebrate our 140th milestone locally by giving something back to the children in the Bromley area by providing financial support to schools to purchase books.

"Donating books also fits in perfectly with Foresters Tech Timeout initiative. As our use of technology increases we could all become 'digital addicts' - especially children - and so we are encouraging families to find a balanced approach to using technology by taking a daily break and turning off all electronic devices for at least one hour a day.

"Getting lost in a good book is a great way to spend some tech-free time, and it is hoped in helping both St Marks and The Ravensbourne School to expand their school library our donation will go some way towards instilling a love of reading for generations to come."

He added, "Our 140 celebrations are set to continue throughout the year. We plan to dovetail our member led community projects in the UK with our milestone celebrations and hope to achieve 140 community projects throughout 2014."

For more information on Foresters, visit www.foresters.com.

To find out more about the Tech Timeout initiative, please visit www.techtimeout.com.

At Foresters we believe in enriching the lives of our members, their families and the communities they live in. We're member-based, family-focused, and community spirited.

Our products benefit both your family and your community. We champion the well-being of families through quality financial products, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities.

We share our financial strength with over one million members across the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Throughout our 140-year history, our purpose has been to enrich the lives of members, their families and communities. The priorities remain today and will guide our future.

As an example, our work with Cash for Kids in their 2013 Mission Christmas Appeal helped over 278,000 children to have a better Christmas. The whole campaign raised GBP8m and involved 1,463 Foresters volunteers and is part of Foresters, the international financial services organisation.

Internationally, Foresters has over GBP14bn* funds under management and has been assigned an 'A' excellent rating by A.M. Best.**

Safeguarding our members' interests is at the heart of what we do. Being financially strong and responsive, with sound governance and continuing professional service have always helped us to protect our members' benefits.

*As at 31st December 2013
**An 'A' excellent rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by A.M. Best Company. In assigning Foresters rating A.M. Best stated that Foresters outlook rating is 'stable', which means it is unlikely to change in the near future, assuming Foresters financial strength is maintained and operations grow. A.M. Best assigns rating from A++ to F, A++ being superior and A and A- being excellent ratings. This rating was assigned on 3rd July 2013. Our International Head Office is located at 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9.

DAC Ref No. 2013321 FM/CO 01/15

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