Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity finally has a home thanks to the hard work and generosity of local businesses.
The new NHS charity, supporting both Royal Preston and Chorley & South Ribble Hospitals, sprang into action at the start of the pandemic, as the team needed to be on-site to be able to support their colleagues. D&G Builders and Joiners, who were working on-site at Royal Preston Hospital at the time, offered their services and enlisted the support of others and set about converting the former blood clinic space in the main entrance.
Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, this has now been transformed into a purpose-designed charity office, fully equipped with everything the team needs to be able to store and manage all gifts and donations.
The charity team is made up of Paula Wilson, Head of Charities and Fundraising; Roya Armstrong, Fundraising Coordinator; Rosalyn Collins, Trust Charity Administrator and Aimee Baines, Digital Fundraiser.
Paula Wilson, Head of Charities and Fundraising at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled with our newly refurbished office, we now have a warm and friendly environment from which to welcome and support staff, patients and their families. We are humbled by the lengths that everyone at D&G Builders and Joiners and their partners went to, giving their time, labour and materials to help us out, at what is still a very challenging time for everyone. We are extremely thankful to each and every one of you - you have given us a fantastic place to call our own, from where we can better support patients and staff, who work so hard to provide the very best care.”
The project was led by D&G Builders and Joiners, who kindly took away all management fees, overheads and profits on labour and materials to ensure the overall cost of the project was as low as it possibly could be for the charity.
The other companies who offered support for the project include Frank Whittle Partnerships, Rise, Ameon Group, Audit Comms, JE Walkers, Protec, CRT Flooring Specialists, Signs Express and Chorley Décor.
Robert Eaves, Construction Manager at D&G Builders and Joiners, said:
“This was a great project for us, and it was a pleasure to be able to work with our partners to provide this amazing team with their first ‘home’. Together we were able to cut costs down to a minimum. Our local NHS staff at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals have been working tirelessly to keep us all safe both before and during this pandemic, and we as a company are delighted to have been able to give something back. We look forward to seeing what plans the charity team have in store, and we will no doubt be taking part in some of their fundraising activities. We wish them all the very best for the future.”
