Pictured from left-right: Gillian Wood from Corbridge Youth Initiative, Bruce Howorth from The Hextol Foundation, Bob Livesey from EGGER, Rebecca Wilson from Useful Vision and Ellen Phillips from Chin Up Charity.
The four charities – The Hextol Foundation, Useful Vision, Chin Up Charity and Corbridge Youth Initiative – were welcomed to the site to meet members of the company charity committee and receive their cheques.
“All of these charities do an incredible amount of positive work across the region,” says Bob Livesey, commercial director at EGGER Western European Division and chairman of the EGGER Charity Committee. “I am delighted that our employees have been able to support so many positive causes with their fundraising efforts.”
The Hextol Foundation is a charity based in Hexham that provides working opportunities for people who have a learning disability or a mental health condition. EGGER’s donation will be used for a variety of projects, including expanding their handyman and gardening services with new tools and equipment.
Bruce Howorth, CEO of The Hextol Foundation, adds: “We are thrilled to have received this donation from EGGER. The money will enable us to help even more people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions in the North East.”
Useful Vision provides positive opportunities, support and accessible events for visually impaired children and their families across the North East.
The donation money will be spent on several activities around Northumberland for visually impaired children and their families, including a day out at the Kingswood Centre at Dukeshouse Wood as well as regular riding lessons, in association with the RDA, as riding increases confidence and self-esteem, as well as teaching balance and spatial awareness to the children, who gain a great sense of achievement from learning to ride.
Rebecca Wilson, founder and trustee for Useful Vision, said: “From experience, I know how difficult it can be for families of blind and partially sighted children. I know that this money will have an incredibly positive impact on the lives of these children.”
Chin Up Charity was set up to relieve children and young people (0-18 years) suffering from a progressive or terminal illness by the provision of facilities for family breaks or respite care in the North East and Cumbria. They have a specially adapted house in Seahouses and EGGER’s funding will be used to landscape the garden and add a ramp to make it more child and wheelchair friendly.
Ellen Phillips from Chin Up Charity, added: “We can’t wait to get started on improving the garden in our Seahouses holiday home to provide another space for children and their families to make some fantastic memories.”
Corbridge Youth Initiative supports around 80 young people over the course of a year who live in Corbridge and the surrounding rural area. Its overall aim is to enable young people to have somewhere to go and something to do in a rural setting. The donation money will be used to help run a variety of sessions at the village’s youth and community centre.
Corbridge Youth Initiative’s project coordinator, Gillian Wood, said: “This money will be used to help more young people become more actively involved in their local community and improve overall emotional wellbeing.”
EGGER employees raise money every year with a range of fundraising events such as its recent Kielder Observatory evening and Hexham Open Day, as well as through the EGGER Runs scheme that sees the company donate five euros for every kilometre completed. Employees have taken part in various races with this scheme including the Great North Run and Hexham Half Marathon. EGGER Group also provides a donation for each individual plant’s charity fund every year.
Last year, EGGER Hexham provided Northumbria Blood Bikes with a new, fully serviced Yamaha motor bike and two years’ worth of fuel. The suggestion to support this particular charity came from an EGGER employee who is a Northumbria Blood Bike volunteer rider.
