Baker Labels has marked another successful year end by donating a total of £20,000 to a range of charities.
The donations have been divided between the company’s chosen charities SNAP, Kids Inspire and Brentwood Foodbank, along with charities nominated by Bakers employees. These inlude Farleigh Hospice, Brentwood Theatre Trust, Wanderers Haven Animal Sanctuary, Help For Heroes and POD Children’s Charity.
“As we all know, charity donations dry up in tougher times and I believe we have a duty to support charities even more during these times, and we should all be proud that as a company we are able to offer support. Steve Baker, Managing Director at Baker Labels.
Last year, a total of £30,000 was donated to charity by Bakers. The 2021 Brentwood Employers of the Year have now donated well in excess of £150,000 to charities since moving to Brentwood in 2011.
Three Peaks Challenge for SNAP
A team from Bakers is taking on the challenge of hiking the National 3 Peaks – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours on the 9/10th September. This is no mean feat and we are prepared with plenty ice packs, vaseline and blister plasters.
£5000 to SNAP Charity (Special Needs and Children)
As you know through SIBS4FUN, children will make new friends who face similar circumstances and participate in experiences that they might not otherwise encounter. By enabling these children to meet and spend time together, your support will help to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness as well as improve their confidence and strengthen their network of support.
Last year one parent said, “It has given my youngest the chance to be a child and play freely without worrying about triggering his autistic brother. It allowed him to feel special and be treated for being an amazing sibling. He came home beaming with happiness and self-confidence.”
A sibling also feedback, “I have loved my days at SIBS! They have been some of the best days of the holiday. It was lovely to have a couple of days to have fun and socialise with children who are just like me. It takes you away from any stress at home and lets you have a great time.”
Thank you for helping to make this possible again this year as well as for helping to ensure SIBS4FUN is bigger and better than ever! We greatly appreciate your continued support”
£5000 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 they promote resilience, self-awareness, and relationship building to empower more positive life choices.
“Thanks again for the generous donation to Kids Inspire. We will be putting the funds towards supporting young people with special education needs that are referred into us. Between May 2021 – April 2022 26% of children and young people referred to Kids Inspire had Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and/or an Education and Health Care Plan. ” Paula Ashfield, Head of Fundraising.
Kids Inspire are now experiencing that at least 1 out of 3 referred children have traits/difficulties indicative of SEND, or they are on a waiting list for a SEND assessment, or they are in the process of being referred for an assessment.
Families are reaching out to our mental health services because of the delay they are experiencing in receiving a SEND diagnosis. They are struggling in the interim because they do not know how to manage feelings and behaviours whilst they wait. We also have families contacting us following a recent diagnosis, as support is not readily available.
£3000 to Brentwood Foodbank
Your continued support of Brentwood foodbank is so appreciated, and I know that those who receive the food are so grateful at this difficult time. It is the kindness and generosity of people like yourselves that we can meet and assist those who are struggling.
Unfortunately, in view of the current situation we all find ourselves in, there are those in our community facing real hardships due to loss of jobs and income, and sadly we find that the need for food has doubled.
£1000 to Help For Heroes
Help for Heroes help the Armed Forces community live well after service. Life can be tough when a military career comes to an end, especially if it has been cut short by illness or injury. Overnight, people lose not only their job, but also a support network that is like family.Help for Heroes is the leading Armed Forces and veterans’ charity in the UK.
£1000 to POD Childrens Charity
POD Children’s Charity is a nationwide charity that organises entertainment for children in hospital. The donation from Bakers will cover the cost of a children’s entertainer Skittleman visiting hospital wards in Essex and East London.
The charity’s aim is to help to alleviate the trauma of a hospital stay by sowing the seeds of fun, laughter and feeling better.
POD Children’s Charity magicians, puppeteers, musicians and clowns create smiles, happiness and bring joy to the lives of children in hospital. This is now recognised to be of crucial value to these children. They give monthly shows in over 150 hospitals and hospices throughout the UK.
POD Children’s Charity has always believed that happy children get better quicker. When POD was founded in 1977 hospitals gave little thought to the emotional needs of sick children. In those days longer term hospital stays were more common. Visiting times for parents were restricted and outside stimulus for children in hospitals was almost unheard of. Times have changed dramatically and POD Children’s Charity is proud to have been part of the progress in the thinking, attitude and approach to children in hospital.
Our entertainers have of course been following extra Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines but despite masks, social distancing, etc., these visits have been a huge success.
£500 to Wanderers Haven Animal Sanctuary
Wanderers Haven Animal Sanctuary is a small non-destruct rescue founded in 1961 by Mrs Geraldine Wagstaff and has been at its current location in Upminster, Essex since 1976. Currently we are home to dogs, cats, various small animals including rabbits, guinea pigs and others, farm animals including sheep, goats, ducks, turkeys and chickens. We are also home to some reptiles including snakes, lizards and sulcata tortoises. Animals come into our care for various reasons. Some come direct from homes, some are strays that are unclaimed by their owners and some are left at our gates for us to find. Other animals come to us through vets where they have been taken to be put to sleep due to behavioural problems that we then take on. Some of our animals are permanent residents which means sanctuary life is more suited to them and their needs.
£2000 to the Brentwood Theatre Trust
The Brentwood Theatre is an independent theatre and registered charity. It’s community theatre, built by the community, for the community. Situated in the centre of Brentwood, the theatre hosts a busy schedule of plays, musicals, and films that cater for all ages and interests. It is also a venue for local clubs and groups to meet.
“It is with much gratitude that I write to thank you for the very generous recent donation of £2000. At our board meeting on Tuesday, it was decided that your donation would be used to fund a future performance by Frozen Light. They are a specialist production company of sensory shows for audiences with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). We strive to be an inclusive organisation and to make the theatre accessible to all, including some partnership work with SNAP, a charity I know is on of your other beneficiaries, so I trust our proposed use of your donation meets with your approval.”
Jos Hollington, Trustee and Company Secretary
£2000 to Farleigh Hospice
Farleigh Hospice provides hospice care to people affected by life-limiting illnesses across mid Essex. Since being established in 1982, their hospice and their team of healthcare professionals has grown and evolved to meet the changing needs of the community they serve.
They provide care for any illness that is considered life-limiting (including cancer, neurological diseases, and chronic heart, lung, and renal diseases), both in their Inpatient Unit and in their patients’ home environments.
They also provide support for families and carers, and for people who have been bereaved. Their bereavement support is available to anyone in mid Essex, even if their bereavement is not connected to the hospice.
