Like its underwriting strategy, Bermuda-based Lancashire’s charitable giving is disciplined.The company, which has a charitable budget of $1.25 million a year, doesn’t just write cheques to anyone who comes knocking at their door.They find their charities and they stick by them year after year.The Lancashire Foundation, created in early 2007, is made up of eight employees at all levels between the company’s two offices — Bermuda and London.Globally, the company aims to help people in areas which are affected by the catastrophes that Lancashire deals with regularly in its underwriting deals. One of its major partners is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).“A large part of what we do is the catastrophe business and MSF tend to end up supporting people who don’t have access to our kind of products and are left to pick themselves up after an earthquake or flood,” said Charles Mathias, group underwriting operations director and heavily involved in the Lancashire Foundation.Here in Bermuda, however, the company focuses time and attention on the youth of the Island, providing help and funding to three main non-profit groups, two of which have been their focus from the start.The Family Centre, which provides support for children and families at risk, receives $110,000 per year from Lancashire which goes toward supporting 11 families in their high-intensity “Families in Crisis” programme.“Here what we have tried to do is pick charities that are best in class,” said Mr Mathias. “We look quite carefully at whether they are successful at getting the money to the front line and not wasting it excessive administration. We think all our charities we support are really good at that.”Tomorrow’s Voices, an early intervention centre for autistic children, receives $130,000 per year from the company.Going into its second year, Lancashire now also supports Sandys 360 Community Sports and Aquatic Centre as well helping young children figure out their education and career paths.“All of them came through some personal form of recommendation,” he said. “We try to pick a few charities and give them substantial support.”But, says Mr Mathias, it’s not about just writing a cheque once a year. The staff also get involved by donating their time.Last year, the company supported and staffed a two-month breakfast programme for the children at Victor Scott School in Hamilton through the Coalition for Children. It went so well last year, that they plan on doing it again this October and November.“Every morning two or three staff members go down to the school, set up and serve breakfast to the kids,” he said. “Every single person in the office participated.”Employees are encouraged to volunteer at charities throughout the island and have worked with the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.Every month the staff get together to hold a raffle for a coveted parking spot in their underground parking area, the proceeds of which go to a charity. This month it’s to buy school supplies for students who can’t afford them.Asked why involvement in charities is such a strong theme at Lancashire, Mr Mathias said that when they work with the less fortunate, it drives home the fact that the basics — food, housing and care — aren’t a given for everyone.“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We are aware that we are guests here in Bermuda. Our staff is partly Bermudian, partly from other areas of the world and we want to make sure we are good guests.“We want to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. We all live a pretty nice lifestyle out here, we have nice houses and cars and no one on our payroll goes short of a meal. When you see kids that didn’t have dinner the night before, you become very keen on it.”