Happy to Support Our Communities in 2019

From Perth to Brighton and Exeter, and lots of places in between, our staff at our service centres across the UK have not only been hard at work ensuring that we deliver the best customer service, they have also found time to get involved with supporting their local communities, groups and charities. As a business with strong family values, this is something that is very important to us.

This has translated into thousands of pounds of donations through fundraising events and gifts in kind, as well as giving support through partnerships, skills and time.

Here are just some of our highlights from 2019:

Basingstoke:
Some of our staff and friends completed the Race for Life Muddy Run in aid of Cancer Research in September.

Brighton:
Michael Carden, from our Regional Sales, and his daughter completed a tandem parachute jump for the Alzheimer’s Society’s One Giant Leap in September. In total they raised a fantastic £1,135. And Customer Service Manager Lesty Miles completed the ‘Sweatember’ challenge to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

However it wasn’t all physical endurance! A Cake Sale was held to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Old mats were also donated to the local RSPCA to keep the animals nice and warm in winter months.

Bristol:
Sandra Rogers and Sally Hipgrave participated in their usual annual Race for Life, a charity close to their hearts, with a fundraising target of £20k.

Exeter:
Older people are especially vulnerable to loneliness and isolation and that’s why our Exeter plant is delighted to support their local Age UK’s Men in Sheds service to support older men who want to get together and share and learn new skills – all in the welcoming space of a ‘Shed’. We have donated unused mats and old roller towels to their shop in the city centre where men enjoy spending a few hours a week helping to upcycle donated tools and garden equipment and creating goods to sell.

Fulwood:
In honour of the International Day of Charity, a number of employees from our Head Office in Fulwood signed up to a month-long walking challenge to help raise money for Derian House Children’s Hospice and The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust. The challenge aimed to collectively walk the 14,000,000 steps to Buenos Aires. Johnsons Workwear contributed a further £500 to fundraising efforts. On a cold, fresh October morning, members of the TCC took part in a 10 km race in Preston city centre for The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in support of their colleague who is receiving treatment there. As you’ll guess, we like a cake at Fulwood, and what better excuse than a charity cake bake and sale that raised £160 for Lymphoma Action.

Gateshead:
The local football team Newcastle Benfield FC, which is also supported by our customer Greggs, benefited from our support with a donation of outdoor coats to keep them warm in inclement weather.

Hadleigh:
Basildon Dogs Trust has benefitted across the year from the donation of old towels and mats. The plant’s McMillan Coffee Morning raised over £160 for the charity. While the recent Christmas jumper day raised nearly £110.

Hinckley:
Great physical achievements were made by Matt Johnson who completed the London Marathon in an impressive 2 hours 59 for charity and by Scott Hall who completed a skydive for the Air Ambulance at Langar Airfield, raising £600.

Hull:
In Hull we recently donated two used laptops to a local Academy to help them improve ICT equipment and capability.. In 2013 Dunswell Academy was one of three small village schools threatened with closure because it was no longer financially viable. Working with parents and the local community, the school successfully fought to save their premises but, as a result, now survives on a very limited budget.

Lancaster:
An ongoing partnership of support was forged with The Uniform Project, a local project linked to the local food bank, where donated new and used school uniforms are distributed to families who need them. We are actively support this cause by washing all of the donated school uniforms free of charge.

Office staff have also been holding a weekly dress down Friday event and routeman Jeff Whittaker runs a weekly football fantasy league in aid of the local St John’s Hospice.

Leeds:
Was delighted to donate £340 to the children’s charity Circus Starr. They invited us to cover the cost of tickets for local children with disabilities or in disadvantaged circumstances to experience an accessible arts event. Every penny raised helps create an unforgettable Big Top extravaganza experience for children who need it most. At the MacMillan Coffee Morning, a variety of homemade cakes, muffins and cheesecakes raised a fantastic £285.

Letchworth:
Wearing odd socks for the day helped to raise funds and provide support for World Downs Syndrome Awareness Day. Used boiler suits were donated to a customer’s arts and community Group called ‘Viva’ in Soham. These were used by the cast to dress up as miners for a performance of ‘Brassed Off’. Great support was given to the Garden House Hospice for their Charlie Chick Easter Campaign with a donation of 300 Crème Eggs.

Manchester:
Keeping fit while raising money for charity created a win-win. A walk up Inglebrough, one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and a canal walk from Worsley to Castlefield helped raise valuable funds for a Healing Garden at local Harefield Hospital. Raffle tickets were sold for Salford Women’s Refuge and donations of food and toys were donated. Toys were collected for a children’s charity and Christmas jumpers were sported for Save the Children.

Newmarket:
Newmarket has continued the Our Plastic Pledge campaign, working with local schools and celebrating world Earth and Environment days.
One of our Newmarket employees Miguel created a piece of work for Earth Day in April for a project featuring pollinators (bees and butterflies) and endangered species (bees). A local beekeeper was contacted to provide some delicious honey samples in jars and honeycomb. Wild flower seeds were handed out for the team to sow and to present pictures later of what they had grown.
Through an environmental project, local children painted pictures which were judged by the plant staff and the school was presented with environmental books and seed pens.

Perth:
A busy year for Perth with Christmas raffle money, of nearly £700, being split between the Neo Natal Ward at Ninewells Hospital and Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Christmas jumper days have supported Save the Children and Parkinson’s Disease. Foodstuffs have been collected and sent to the local foodbank across the year with donations of Christmas gifts being made to local children in need. Two collections of write off stock and hygiene product were sent to Sudanese Refugee Camps in Greece. Two local animal charities, Perthshire Gundog Rescue and Guide Dogs for the blind also benefitted from our old mats.

Uttoxeter:
Our routeman Anthony Guyah spends his spare time teaching martial arts to children in the local community. The plant felt it appropriate to make sure they have a smart uniform to wear whilst training, supplying T-Shirts that were gratefully received.

We donated a selection of branded fleeces to local community volunteers from The Globe Foundation as part of our ongoing support. Globe, a non-profit organisation that protects the natural world, provides a range of eco-friendly initiatives to help improve and support the local town’s environment, from litter picking volunteer groups to community gardening activities. Globe is also working closely with St Mary’s First School, based next door to the plant and Uttoxeter Heath Community Centre, to develop a new community garden located opposite the plant. Our site is helping in any way we can to develop the Heath Community Garden, to improve the quality of the local environment and turn the site in to a haven for plants and wildlife.