Employees from the region’s power network operator Electricity North West have carried out a day of volunteering and made a generous cash donation to support the work of homelessness charity Emmaus Preston.
On Monday 16 October, a team of 16 Electricity North West employees from the Preston depot completed a day of voluntary work at Emmaus Preston’s community building – home to 24 formerly homeless people. The group completed work in the garden surrounding the community building and made a donation of £4k after employees selected Emmaus Preston as their charity of the year.
Andy Davies, a formerly homeless person who now lives and works at Emmaus Preston, said: “The team were amazing and couldn’t do enough to help. They fixed the poly tunnel, rotovated all the soil ready for planting and done much more than we originally planned. Thank you to the Electricity North West team for their kind help on the day.”
The support given to Emmaus Preston is part of Electricity North West’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy to support initiatives within the communities in which the company operates.
Jonathan Collins, Stakeholder and CSR Manager at Electricity North West, said: “We are extremely proud to be volunteering our services for such a great cause and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to make a donation. We power local communities across the North West and it’s great that we are able to give back to the communities in which we operate in this way.”
Emmaus Preston supports formerly homeless people by providing a home and meaningful work in a community setting. The charity operates two large social enterprises in the city, providing valuable work opportunities whilst generating an income to help sustain the support offered by Emmaus Preston.
Stephen Buchanan, Director of Emmaus Preston, said: “The donation of time and money by the employees of Electricity North West is a great boost to the people supported at Emmaus Preston. It was great to welcome the team to our community to see first-hand the work we do and to thank them personally for the support they have given.”
To find out more and support Emmaus Preston head to www.emmaus.org.uk/preston. If you would like to get involved or donate an item, please call 01772 796622 or visit the Emmaus Preston Megastore on Brookfield Street or Deepdale Mill Street Superstore.
