Interviews

Celebrity ambassadors answer the call at firm’s Canary Wharf office to help generate funds and honour the memory of 9/11 victims

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“You start the day by thinking back to those terrible events, 24 years ago,” said Sean Windeatt, BGC Group’s co-CEO and COO as I ask him how the company’s annual Charity Day feels.

Occupying four floors of the World Trade Centre’s North Tower, BGC’s parent company Cantor Fitzgerald lost 719 employees in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

From the firm’s London office, brokers listened as their New York colleagues used the squawk box to pass messages through to their families in what became their final moments.

In the aftermath, BGC created Charity Day as a memorial to honour colleagues, friends and loved ones.

Held on September 11 each year, the brokerage donates all revenues and broker commissions to charity, with celebrity patrons manning the phones and collecting contributions on behalf of the organisations they represent.

Since its inception in 2005, the initiative has raised more than $234million for good causes including a record-breaking $14million this year.

“Those thoughts of 2001 quickly pass because you start looking around at all the charities who are in attendance and you realise how wonderful Charity Day is,” said Sean.

“So much good comes out of it.”

Marking 20 years since its creation, this year’s event saw the likes of Princess Beatrice, boxer Anthony Joshua, former Chelsea captain John Terry, and Britain’s Got Talent star Amanda Holden.

Also attending were footballer Mark Bright, presenter Holly Willoughby and actors Ray Winstone, Lily James, Hugh Grant and Will Poulter, among many others.

Charities represented included Action Medical Research, Battersea Dogs And Cats Home, Beefy’s Charity Foundation, The Brain And Spine Foundation, Clean Herts Community, Cure EB, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, HVH Arts and Haven House Children’s Charity.

part of BGC’s DNA

“It has become a highlight of the year for me and all the traders,” said Sean.

“9/11 is a memory – something I’ll never forget because I was actually on the phone with one of my colleagues in New York when the plane hit.

“But then you think about how much benefit we’ve given to the charities over the years.

“It’s a great thing for the City Of London because everyone comes together – even our competitors who deal with BGC, as they recognise it’s for such a good cause.

“It’s wonderful to have the celebrity ambassadors, because they help us to generate more money – people really want to talk to them.

“But it’s also about inviting the charities themselves and seeing what’s being done with some of the money. It’s such a fulfilling  day.

“We aim to support around 40 larger organisations and at least 30 smaller charities with some local to Canary Wharf and east London.

“There are still around 100 people working for BGC who were here in 2001.

“There are around 1,500 people who have joined subsequently who weren’t working for the company on 9/11, yet every single one of them wants to be involved in this.

“They know they’re working a day for nothing and all they want to do is to make money for the causes we support.

“They’ve bought into this – Charity Day is part of our DNA, our culture.”

record-breaking fundraising

With markets busier again, despite the Tube strike, the latest Charity Day broke records with $14million raised for good causes this year.

Sean said: “We started off by making sure we looked after the families of those who lost their lives while working at the company on 9/11.

“Then, once we’d achieved that, we started to look at how we could carry things on and support other charities. 

“The start of Charity Day coincided with our move to Canary Wharf in 2005 where we remain to this day.

“We were in Barclay’s building until 2019 and then moved literally next door where we have our name on the building.

“I think this place is fantastic and we’re very happy here – I’m very much a supporter of the Wharf.”

Find out more about BGC Group’s Charity Day here

case study: Magic Breakfast

While the celebrities graft on the phones to generate as much cash and awareness as possible at BGC Group’s annual Charity Day, its impact extends beyond the steel and glass towers of Canary Wharf and out into the community.

One of the beneficiaries of this year’s event is Magic Breakfast, with actor Will Poulter attending as its ambassador.

The charity’s mission is simple – to ensure no child or young person in the UK starts the day too hungry to learn.

It both provides breakfasts directly to schools in a variety of different ways and campaigns for change to address child morning hunger.  

Emma Feltham spent a decade as a teacher and tutor before becoming an engagement partner at Magic Breakfast.

She works in east London to deliver the charity’s services and optimise its provision in schools.

expanding support

“We’re so grateful to Will and for BGC for including us because these funds mean we can recruit more schools and reach more pupils,” she said.

“We always want to expand to place support where it’s needed.

“We know there are so many benefits to tackling morning hunger in children and young people.

“It sets them up for the day – for example, you’ll see fewer kids leaving the classroom because of tummy aches and headaches. 

“We also see a knock-on effect where behaviour and concentration have improved and that has a positive impact on the rest of the class too as there’s less disruption to learning.

“We work across the UK and currently support more than 1,000 schools, providing over 300,000 breakfasts.

“We work in primary and secondary schools and pupil referral units – it’s a real pleasure to work in lots of different settings, because we know this is not just something which is needed in the younger years.”

bespoke solutions

Due to the diversity of schools the charity works with, its services are anything but a one-size-fits-all solution and are instead tailored to fit the needs of the youngsters in the setting.

Emma said: “Different schools have different offers.

“We support lots of schools, from small ones with 30 pupils to those with 1,500. Logistically, it does look different in every provision.

“They might have a breakfast club, canteen provision or a grab-and-go option where the young people can take something to eat as they come in.

“We work with the schools to handle the logistics and put something in that works for them – in some of the older Victorian buildings, over three or four floors, that can be challenging.

“We’ve learnt over 20 years of providing these services that there are families who don’t qualify for support but who need a little bit of help with childcare.

“The other aspect of what we do is social – it may be that the children have a safe place to come and enjoy food in the morning as a nice start to their day.

“School can be quite full on, from the start to half-past three, it’s pretty much go-go-go.

“We provide an environment where they can come and hang out with their peers and also socialise with pupils in different year groups.

“For us it’s about making breakfast accessible to everybody in a stigma-free way, especially for working parents who may be doing multiple jobs to support their family.”

Find out more about the charity here

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