Festive Charity Giving 

Baker Labels has been getting in the festive spirit with donations to four local charities again this Christmas. This December we have donated a total of £16,000 between SNAP (Special Needs and Parents), Kids InspireAching Arms and Brentwood Foodbank. Representatives from the four charities were invited into Bakers this week to be presented with cheques. While they were here they each shared details of the work they have been doing and how the donations will help.

Over £62,000 has now been donated to around 15 different charities by Bakers in 2022. Some of the good causes that have been supported this year were nominated by staff, while others were through customers or suppliers. Employees at the company have also had opportunities to support these three charities directly through volunteering. This has had a positive effect on them gaining a better understanding of what the charities do. For SNAP we volunteered at their SIBS4FUN event, while at Kids Inspire we have wrapped Christmas presents for their Christmas Appeal and for the Foodbank we have helped deliver and unload huge loads of groceries.

Group wrapping gifts

Supporting local charities and good causes is absolutely the right thing to do, especially at this time of year. To hear directly from the charities we have supported about the projects and work they are able to do with our support is very rewarding. It’s also really valuable for our team here to hear that the hard work they do isn’t just appreciated by the business but also by the good causes we are able to support

Steve Baker

Managing Director, Baker Labels

£6500 donation to SNAP

SNAP – Special Needs And Parents – is an Essex charity for families with children and young people who have any special need or disability. SNAP’s aims are to inform, encourage and support parents and carers so that they can grow in strength and knowledge and become better equipped to give the best possible help to their children.

Thank you for your incredible support this year and for your Christmas donation of £5,000. We are so grateful to everyone at Baker Labels for taking on the Brentwood Half Marathon, a Nuclear Races 7k Muddy Obstacle Race, the Three Peaks Challenge, hosting a Comedy Bingo Night and raising funds for SNAP. Thank you for your hard work in raising £2,100 and for generously giving an additional £10,000 for SIBS4FUN and this Christmas gift! This really is incredible, and your continued support is appreciated more than we can say.

As you know, your support will ensure that local families who have a child or young person with any additional need or disability can continue to rely on SNAP for personalised advice, strategies, and information. The funds you have raised will help to provide a variety of support, both remotely and in-person, through services such as our Helpline, face-to-face advice, specialist parent talks and a range of activity sessions for children and young people. This year 647 new families have registered with SNAP. Your support is appreciated now more than ever as the number of families seeking our help continues to climb.

Karen Boath

Chief Executive, SNAP (Special Needs and Parents)

Presenting a charity cheque to SNAP

Steve Baker presents a cheque to Jeremy Radley and Karen Boath from SNAP

£5,000 donation to Kids Inspire

Kids Inspire provide mental health and trauma recovery support for children, young people and their families.

Through a range of therapeutic and community activities we promote resilience, self-awareness, and relationship building to empower more positive life choices.

Please pass on our thanks to the whole team at Baker Labels for their generous donations to Kids Inspire this year.  It was lovely to see some of your team at the wrapping day last week. Your continued loyalty to the charity and the support you provide means the world to us.Your positive action has made such a difference to the children and families in our community.

In the past year* we have supported 3,755 individuals with therapy, mentoring, groups and consultation. Without the teamwork and goodwill of every supporter achieving our goals and objectives would not have been possible.

Thanks to you – your gift will allow young people to build resilience, self-awareness and to work on essential relationship building which in return empowers them to make more positive and healthier life choices, now and in the future

Paula Ashfield

Head of Fundraising, Kids Inspire

Kids Inspire charity presented with a donation cheque

Steve Baker presents a cheque to Rachael Basset and Paula Ashfield from Kids Inspire

£1,500 donation to Aching Arms

Aching Arms is there to help and support you when you’ve experienced the heartbreak of losing your baby, during pregnancy, at birth or soon after. They offer a beautiful comfort bear to fill your arms and a community to support you as you grieve. Each Aching Arms bear is given as a gift from one bereaved family to another, to let you know that you are not alone. When you need them, their Supporting Arms service is there for you. The service is run by bereaved parents and gives you the opportunity to talk to someone who has an understanding of what you’re going through.

Thank you to everyone at Baker Labels for this wonderful Christmas surprise and what an incredible donation amount.  Thank you so so very much, we feel very honoured to have your support. 

Last year’s donation allowed us to establish a support group for Bereaved dads. The monthly remote meet up group has been a huge success, giving Dads a chance to speak freely and support each other via the facilitation of a volunteer counsellor. The donation from Bakers this year will allow us to continue and to expand this support. In addition we have worked with the Dads to create a ‘men’s survival guide – Dads supporting other Dads’.  The donation this Christmas will fund the creation, production and circulation of this and may well be a lifeline to newly bereaved Fathers

Lindsay Carpenter-Oliver

Bereavement Care Manager, Aching Arms

Aching arms charity receive a donation from bakers

Steve Baker presents a cheque to Lindsay Carpenter-Oliver from Aching Arms

£3000 donation to Brentwood Foodbank

Brentwood Foodbank was established in 2011 as a partnership between Breakthru Church and Dodd Road Community Church. Brentwood Foodbank works with a number of frontline care agencies to provide food parcels to the most vulnerable members of our community. The agencies that they work with hold vouchers that they are able to issue to their clients. The vouchers can then be redeemed at the Foodbank for a food parcel.

Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with foodbanks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown and mental health problems.

Thank you for your amazing support of Brentwood Foodbank and your very generous cheque of £3000 for the Brentwood Foodbank. 

Sadly, at this time, we find that many families are being hit by the economic situation that we all find ourselves in. Some have lost jobs, others, stress and illness has taken its toll and Foodbank is able to ensure that those that find themselves in these difficulties will be able to feed themselves and their children.

It is the amazing kindness of schools, churches and individuals that enable us to continue with this work. Sadly, there has been over a 54% rise in our numbers from June.  However, these past few months have shown a weekly increase, and this is a concern for us all. The amazing donations we receive help us to ensure, hopefully, that no one goes hungry.

As the winter months approach, and the colder weather sets in, we are expecting the need will grow even greater.

We do appreciate this is a difficult time for everyone, and your kind donation is very much appreciated. Thank you once again for your generosity

Julie Bowler

Volunteer, Brentwood Foodbank

Brentwood Foodbank given a charity donation from Bakers

Julie Bowler from Brentwood Foodbank receives a cheque from Steve Baker

Read more on Bakers charity work

Since 2011 when Bakers moved to new premises in Brentwood we have donated well in excess of £150,000 to charities and good causes.