His Master’s Voice: help us make a difference

It is hard to believe that a month has passed since my last blog but what a month it has been.

I am delighted to report that our online charity auction was a resounding success, raising over £12,500. That was followed by the Barker and Stonehouse golf day, which raised £5,000 for our charity. Meanwhile our Furniture Makers face coverings have also raised £1,600.

Summer has been very different for us this year, with popular events like Big Shots and the five-a-side football tournament cancelled because of coronavirus. However, we are very pleased that our longest running fundraising event, the National Golf Day, is going ahead on the 17 September, albeit in a different and socially distanced format than normal. There is still time to get a team together and join us for a great day of fun and networking in the open air of Warwickshire golf course, so please do consider it.

Our fundraising efforts are more important than ever as the demand on our resources is higher than normal because of the number of people applying for support during these difficult times. We anticipate the number of Personal Support Grant applications to surge as the furlough scheme is wound down and jobs are sadly lost.

How can you help?

Please help us by spreading the word to industry colleagues you know and encourage them to get involved. Promote our One Step at a Time campaign and recommend companies to sign up as One Step Champions – it’s a cost-free way to increase awareness of our charitable activities with employees and co-workers. Now more than ever before, it is vital that everyone working in the industry knows that we exist and can support them in times of financial hardship.

If you want to see the difference we are making to people’s lives, watch our short video with Toby, an independent furniture maker who thought the lockdown would put him out of business.

This is what our charity is all about and why we exist.

On watching the video, if you now have a desire to support what we are doing – and why wouldn’t you – please place an order for a Furniture Makers face covering. At £11 each, they are not expensive, and they’re made with Shield Plus fabric by Panaz, scientifically proven to be effective against coronavirus as well as other known germs. Remember every penny raised goes to the charity.