WAREHOUSE picker Henry McDonald from Handforth is helping East Cheshire Hospice in its hour of need.

Henry is employed by lingerie brand Pour Moi, which is sharing half of sales from its new Charity Edit collection between four charities, one of which is the hospice.

Henry works at Pour Moi's main distribution centre in Macclesfield, where staff nominated the hospice as a beneficiary of a £25,000 donation.

Pour Moi pledged to raise a minimum of £100,000 during May and June from its Charity Edit offer featuring lingerie, swimwear, loungewear and sportswear.

The company, founded by owner Michael Thomson in an office above a Macclesfield shop 15 years ago, has made the gesture to help charities on the front line of the fight against Covid-19.

Pour Moi is a successful international brand, but has not forgotten its Cheshire roots and has launched a #LetsDoThis campaign featuring staff showing Love Heart signs.

Age UK, Samaritans and RISE, a domestic violence charity in Brighton, where the company is now based, are the other charities to benefit.

Michael said: "These four charities do amazing work all year round but are now suffering from the double whammy of massive increased demand for their services and a dramatic drop in funding – both caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Like lots of people, we were wondering what we could do to help the many vulnerable people in this time of urgent need, and the Charity Edit collection is our response.

“It'll provide much-needed funds for the charities in their greatest hour of need as well as help publicise the sterling work that each of them does."

The hospice has estimated it will lose more than £1 million in income after cancelling fundraising events.

Corporate fundraiser Kate Bowmar said: "We'd like to thank Pour Moi and its staff for their generous gesture.

“The response from the corporate world and the public during Covid-19 has been amazing and shows again how much the community cares for the hospice."

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Michael Thomson, founder and owner of Pour Moi, with his Love Heart sign

Pour Moi Head of Operations Rachel Kirk Lockley and Henry McDonald