R&C Williams | R&C implement its GIV£1 charity initiative

Aileen Bicknell, R&C Office Manager and Business Director Sam Drew showcase R&C’s first GIV£1 initiative beneficiary cheque

R&C Williams sits at the heart of Spaghetti Junction, as well as at the heart of its community.

Local projects and community engagement has always been high on the company’s priority list, with recent examples of outreach projects including a vehicle logo design for their first all-electric van with a local primary school and working with other Area 9 SRN partners at Acorns Children’s Hospice in Walsall, providing and giving them a new garden shed to house the children’s outside equipment.

The company’s first foray into its community programme in 2021, comes in the form of a link up with a local food bank, based just miles away from their Head Office in nearby Erdington.

R&C will work closely with Erdington foodbank as part of a partnership agreement for 2021, in which, R&C Williams will provide food provisions on a monthly basis, on the products, and top up their much-needed supplies.

Working on this basis since November 2020, R&C now formally pledges and commits for the next 12 months.

GIV£1 is born

Following the foodbank initiative sparking in November, of kindness from one member of the R&C workforce has subsequently spurred R&C Williams on into a wider initiative: GIV£1.

Business Director Sam Drew takes up the story:

“In December, one of my operatives approached me as he wanted to personally give something to our Food bank pledge. Extremely humbled, I told him as a business we hugely appreciate the suggestion but that there was no need to do so.

“However, this really opened my eyes as to what we could potentially achieve collectively as a business contributing to other great causes. GIV£1 was essentially born there.

“So, after much deliberation over the conversation I’d had with our operative, we decided to approach all of our staff to see if they would be open to the idea of donating £1 per week into a charitable contribution fund, with the company then topping that total amount up to £500 on a monthly basis.

“The suggestion was then made to give the proceeds to a different local charity each month throughout 2021, and we asked all of our staff to nominate a local charity that is close to their own heart for one reason or another to become the recipient of the funds raised.

“We have been greatly humbled by the response on the scheme, as over 90% of our employees have volunteered to
donate each week from their payroll. As a result, our first charity recipient for 2021 is ‘Breast Friends’ based in Sutton Coldfield. We have chosen this charity as one of our Senior Foreman’s wife is currently going through treatment for Breast Cancer, so this great local charity will be the beneficiary of our workforce kindness in January.”

“I would also like to urge other businesses within our sector to take up the GIV£1 scheme and further aid their local communities.

“We have been in a fortunate position in the current climate to be able to continue working as key workers throughout the pandemic, which has seen many charities struggle an awful lot as the whole world has been under restraints and unable to do many sorts of fund raising. So, as a sector we’re asking; how can we help? And we truly believe the GIV£1 scheme can reinvigorate a host of charities up and down the country.”

If anyone would like any further information on GIV£1 please contact either R&C Williams Business Director Sam Drew or R&C Williams Logistics Assistant Alex Colesby on sam.drew@randcwilliams.ltd.uk or alex@randcwilliams.ltd.uk respectively.