#7Hello from Andy

Find us online www.watesgiving.org

Welcome to the latest round up of news from Wates Giving, the charitable programme of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust.

I think this has to be our most unusual front cover! These twin snow leopard cubs are stars of the show at Twycross Zoo where Smartspace has a Facilities Management contract. We are very pleased to be supporting Twycross with its ambition to be the No.1 sustainable zoo in the UK. A Loughborough University PhD student, Daniel Adebote, will undertake a placement at the zoo to help develop new sustainable programmes.

This is just one example of the innovative proposals we’ve had from across the Wates business. As usual, we have only been able to include a small selection of those we receive – remember there are more on our website.

Also, please do keep your match funding applications coming in as we really want to exceed last year’s total.

Over the summer we made financial awards to organisations supporting those affected by recent tragic events whom we know Wates people were very keen to help. We donated £10,000 shared between We Love Manchester and the Manchester Children’s Hospital and a further £10,000 to the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation charity, which is co-ordinating relief efforts for families caught up in the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Please do get in touch with us if you have any questions. Our contact details, along with a feature on Wates Community Investment Advisors who can also help you with Wates Giving queries, are on the back page.

And finally… next year it will be Wates Giving’s 10th anniversary – which is an opportunity to reflect on past successes and also to look to the future. More details of how we will be marking this noteworthy occasion to follow!

Andy Wates

As usual there were some pretty remarkable statistics achieved as a result. Over 7,500 employee hours were volunteered during the week contributing over £500,000 to local communities and causes. This is made up of over £480,000 in volunteering time and a further £22,000 from Wates Giving. This year all the Regions and Business Units were invited to nominate one stand out project from their area to receive a £500 donation from Wates Giving – we received over 20 nominations. There was a further opportunity for five projects to receive an extra £2,000 for their fit with one of the five pillars of the Reshaping Tomorrow programme. Pitches were made in the form of short videos from which we then selected the best five. In fact, the videos were so good we made an unexpected bonus award to a sixth project, City of Trees!

We were delighted to support the recent Reshaping Tomorrow Week which this year saw 1,235 of you supporting 93 local projects across the country and volunteering to help communities, protect the environment, and enhance sustainability. A truly outstanding effort.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE RECEIVE AN IMPRESSIVE NUMBER OF INSPIRING PROPOSALS FOR WATES GIVING TO SUPPORT. These come from right across the business, from

Wates people who know from working in their own communities which projects will make a lasting

difference. In this issue we focus on Reshaping Tomorrow Week and showcase some other recent awards. Jerry Wright

Over the last few months Wates Giving has also made financial awards to some great initiatives proposed by Wates business units and Wates family members.

HERE IS JUST A SELECTION OF WHAT WE HAVE SUPPORTED:

VISION 21, CARDIFF – INCLUSIONVision 21 provides work-based training opportunities for people with learning needs. The Wates team volunteered almost 100 hours over three days to help clean its new office and assist with Vision 21’s contract with Cardiff Council, which involved the painting and upkeep of benches and railings in parks across the city. Time was also spent in the carpentry department and the IT and

catering units.

HOSPITALITY & HOPE, SOUTH TYNESIDE – COMMUNITYHospitality & Hope is a Christian faith-based charitable organisation which helps vulnerable individuals and families in crisis. It operates a soup kitchen service and the South Tyneside Foodbank. Wates volunteers organised donations to the local clothes and food banks and chipped in with odd jobs as well.

YORK CARERS, YORK – BEHAVIOURSThe York Carers Centre works in partnership with carers to bring about improved services from local government, employers and health providers. A group of volunteers from SES converted a little-used upstairs office into a quiet spot that could be used by staff as a much-needed

break out and rest area.

HOME START, CAMDEN – COMMUNITYHome Start Camden offers free and confidential support, friendship and practical help to parents of children under five in the London Borough of Camden who are going through a difficult time. Volunteers replenished the edible garden on one of Camden’s housing estates. The group also installed a wormery at the local pre-school children’s centre, educating the children on composting and recycling.

GROWING IN THE CITY, MANCHESTER – ENVIRONMENTGrowing In The City is set to re-invigorate Greater Manchester’s landscape by transforming underused, unloved woodland and planting within a generation a tree for every man, woman

and child who lives there. Wates volunteers came to a large area of St Barnabas’ park to lay the groundwork for a new woodland for local wildlife and children to enjoy for many years to come.

ReshapingTomorrow

OUR TOP FIVE WERE:

One of the Wates Family projects we sponsored was Carers Worldwide, which was nominated by Jonny Wates. With programmes across India and Nepal, and plans to expand into Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the organisation has succeeded in transforming the lives of over 5,500 unpaid family carers since it started just four years ago.

Jennie Assersohn, Living Space put

forward the Goldfinger Finger Factory CIC for an award to buy some much-needed tools and equipment. The

London-based studio teaches practical skills in building, decoration

and design as well as soft skills to help

improve employability in young people.

Sally Kinchin, Construction, nominated Rushmoor Borough Council for an award to fund a course to help 12 unemployed people get ready for employment. The successful programme leads to a qualification in ‘Health and Safety in a Construction Environment’.

We were pleased to be able to support Julia’s House Devizes, proposed by Rebecca Thursby, amongst others, from Construction, which opened its doors in May this year and is the first children’s hospice in Wiltshire.

AWARD ROUND UP…

Simply amazing! Wates people have organised, participated in and attended events that raised money for a host of worthy causes. Wates Giving is proud to have helped you achieve your targets through individual awards and match funding. This is just a small selection of what you have been up to.

You can see more about fundraising initiatives on watesgiving.org

We had two teams raising money for the Prince’s Trust. An SES team (below) took on the entrepreneurial challenge of the Million Makers while a team from Residential Developments (above) tackled the Hadrian’s Wall Challenge. Together they raised an amazing £50,000.

A team of ‘Pink Ladies’ from the Manchester office and their families took part in Race for Life, in the name of colleague, Pedro Nogueira, who is currently battling cancer.

Yvonne Ellis, Construction, powered through the MoonWalk for the cancer charity WalktheWalk.

Mark Greenwood, Residential Developments, applied for a community award to buy video equipment to help train the Blackley Cricket Club Juniors.

Smartspace’s very own superhero – aka Gary Scott – abseiled down the Sandman Hotel in Newcastle in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The charity is currently supporting his daughter.

In a knock out move, Carl Blakeley, Construction, took part in a charity boxing match to raise money for Cancer Research.

Neil Morrison, Living Space, got on his bike and pedalled 43 miles to raise money for the Michael Sobell Hospice.

Ellie Keighley, Construction, had a bold haircut and donated her tresses to The Little Princess Trust that provides real hair wigs free of charge to unwell children.

Laura Ben-Mayor, Living Space, abseiled down the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Village, London for the community youth project, The Zone.

Richard Morris, Group Services, helped to organise the 10th Anniversary Charity Ball for the William Merritt Disabled Living Centre.

Michelle Peek, Construction, carried out a jaw-dropping tandem sky-dive to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance in memory of her daughter, Ellie.

Here to helpPlease do get in touch if you’d like to discuss anything Wates Giving related. Contact Celia Watson, Rebecca Ray or me on 01372 861250.

JERRY WRIGHT | DIRECTOR WATES FAMILY CHARITIES

ANGIE EARDLEY, is a Community Investment Manager for Living Space. Based in Manchester, Angie explains more about what they do.

“There are generally three parts to our role. We support Work Winning teams by providing details for the Social Value part of a bid. Then, when a bid is successful, we implement the Community Investment Plan and advise the teams on how best to deliver the promises. Finally, at the end of a project, we produce Project Impact Reports – to demonstrate the benefits derived from those community activities.

We also encourage colleagues to get involved in community activities and show them where to go for more information. I THINK WATES GIVING IS A BIT OF A HIDDEN GEM SO I SPREAD THE WORD WHENEVER I CAN. Across Wates there are many unsung heroes volunteering in their own time already for sports clubs, youth groups and local charities. We want to ensure they know about Wates Giving initiatives such as match-funding and Community Grants.

We are also brilliantly supported by those who act as charity champions. For example, in Manchester Angela O’Brien does a great job as Charity Coordinator and Wellbeing Champion alongside her day job.

If you have an idea, or are thinking of making a Wates Giving application, you can chat it through with your CIA or anyone in the network. We work together on schemes like the Seeing is Believing Tours and the Building Futures programme. WE ARE ALWAYS KEEN TO HEAR NEW IDEAS SO PLEASE DO GET IN TOUCH.”

Threaded through Wates is a network of people who help support community investment activities. THE CIA, BETTER KNOWN AS COMMUNITY INVESTMENT ADVISORS, provide a great link between Wates businesses and community organisations across the UK. There are also a number of champions, such as Julie Payne, SES, who support on key programmes such as social enterprises and charity fundraising across the Group. They are a fantastic first port of call if you want to know about what’s going on in your area, have an idea for a community project or just want to get involved.

Back to school – Early!Twenty students from Birmingham, Manchester and London attended the first ever “Build Yourself” summer camp at the end of July. Funded by Wates Giving and run by Wates and the education charity, “Let me Play”, the residential camp was held at Loughborough University. It was designed to inspire students who have an interest in construction and are part of the Think Build programme.

CONSTRUCTIONClare Gill

NorthEast and YorkshireLouise Reeve

Southern Construction FrameworkLisa Pearman (PT) Joshua Steiner

North West Norma Odain-Hines

London and NHCCommunity Investment

Advisers Network

RESIDENTIALLiam Manton

NorthMichelle McSorley

SouthLucy DaviesSouth Wales

LIVING SPACEAngie Eardley

North(Raechel Ballantine

– maternity leave) Jennie Assersohn

South

GROUPSu Pickerill

Group Community Investment Manager

Nina HughesGroup Community

Investment advisor

Meet the other CIA