Kier raise over £500k for OnSide charity in support of young people

Kier Highways and their Collaborative Learning Circle raised over £500K at their Charity Ball, held at the Park Royal Hotel in Warrington.

The charity is aimed a giving young people aged 8-19 (or up to 25 for those with a disability) who are from deprived areas, the opportunity to escape the isolation they face and turning to the streets, or becoming reclusive.

OnSide changes the lives of 38,000 young people per year, in addition to over 3,500 disabled people.  It has over 16 state of the art youth zones that offer 21^st Century youth provision.

This amazing cause is driven by the people within the OnSide community, with an astounding 750+ volunteers, and the charity has raised over £100 million so far since it’s inception in 2008

The charity provides a safe haven for young people who otherwise would not have any social support.

OnSide’s youth workers and an army of volunteers deliver a host of stimulating activities and also offer advice and support to help young people develop the resilience, skills and strategies required to lead successful lives.

During the evening, a host of supporters spoke- including a very moving speech from The Baroness Helen Newlove, who had her life so sadly and suddenly changed by a significant event.

On Saturday night (14^th April) the charity held an auction at the ball in addition to a raffle with some incredible prizes donated by supporters.

Dave Wright, Executive Director of Kier Highways, who was inspired by the charity organised the event which was supported by the industry, friends and colleagues said:

“Last Summer I was fortunate to be invited to an OnSide event at Albert’s Schloss in Manchester and this had a huge impact on me personally. To witness first-hand the difference that OnSide were making to the lives of young people was truly inspirational and I realised there and then that I had to become involved.

“The Collaborative Learning Circle was formulated to further enhance collaboration within our business community and making youngsters aware of how exciting the construction industry can be.

“Within Kier we have worked hard at our collaborative relationships with our suppliers and clients, and through this we have all seen significant benefits to safety and customer satisfaction through increased innovation in delivery and the resulting reduction in costs.

“I saw an opportunity to further enhance this across the whole of our industry by providing colleagues at all levels with e-learning to help them understand, embrace and make collaboration the norm.

“Alongside this, the construction industry has a huge skills gap and we acknowledge the need to make the industry more attractive to new entrants and engage with children earlier to tell them about all the great career opportunities that exist.”

To find out more about OnSide visit https://www.onsideyouthzones.org/