Family values
Across the UK, we have twelve regional offices, all working closely with local businesses and local people.
We are family-run company with family values, and feeling this time of year is the season of good will we decided to have “Twelve Days of Christmas Giving”.
Our loading systems, escalators and mobility teams also got involved.
Here’s what happened during our Twelve Days of Christmas Giving…
On the first day…
Our South West office in Bristol are big supporters of the Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary and have been supporting them by fundraising. This year they have donated £295.
Some of our staff have found their much-loved dog or cat at the sanctuary and they are so grateful for the work they do. Since 1992 the sanctuary has rehomed unwanted, abandoned and often mistreated animals. They typically rehome all breeds of domestic dogs and cats.
Kennel Manager Tina Constance said: “We are thrilled to receive this amazing donation from the team at Pickerings Lifts.
“We’ve rehomed a few of our animals with some employees at Pickerings and it’s lovely to know that they wanted to fundraise to help us continue doing the job we are.
We love our role in the local community and all the wonderful animals that come to our sanctuary.
There’s no better feeling than taking in a neglected or distressed animal, looking after them and helping to find their forever home.
Thank you so much for your support, Pickerings Lifts. It means the world.”
L-R: Aaron O’Shea regional manager for South West office, with Tina Constance, kennel manager at Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary and Linda Probert from Pickerings Lifts
On the second day…
Our South Coast office in Burgess Hill supported St Barnabas House by fundraising and donating £310 this year – a welcome donation to the local hospice which opened in 1973 and was among the first modern-day hospices providing end-of-life care to be built in Britain.
Mary Bye, Community Fundraiser at St Barnabas House, said: “It’s lovely to hear how St Barnabas has supported the family members and employees at Pickerings.
“We’re extremely grateful for the donation which will help us to continue caring for people with life-limiting illnesses and providing support for the whole family.
Only a small proportion of our care costs are funded by central government, so it is individuals, groups and businesses in our local community that make hospice care happen. We couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you, Pickerings!”
L-R: Mary Bye, community fundraiser at St Barnabas House with Norman Rayner, operations manager at Pickerings Lifts – South Coast
On the third day…
Our Head Office in Stockton-on-Tees provided support to their local foodbanks, Billingham and Middlesbrough, with a festive food donation worth over £200. Selection boxes, advent calendars and much more was donated for families in need this time of year.
Helen Winspear, Project Manager at Stockton and Billingham Borough Foodbank, said: “We strongly believe that no one should ever go hungry.
That’s why we work tirelessly to ensure the thousands of people who come to us in crisis each year are supported and given emergency food supplies for at least three days.
We’re so grateful for the donation from Pickerings because it will feed many more hungry mouths and enable us to support even more people in the local community, especially as we approach the Christmas period which is our busiest time of year.”
L-R: Luke Dowson, Amy Robinson from Pickerings Lifts and Helen Winspear, project manager at Stockton and Billingham Borough Foodbank
On the fourth day…
Staff at our East Coast office in Hull have been busy fundraising for the Hull Animal Welfare Trust. Hull’s unwanted cats and dogs are set to benefit from the fundraising.
The charity has helped rehome over 30,000 animals since it was formed by a group of volunteers in 1982 and ensures healthy animals are never destroyed, and animals in distress are always taken in.
Sue Sewell from Hull Animal Welfare Trust said: “We are always looking to enrich the lives of the animals, whilst they are in our care, so the passion and the fundraising goes on.”
L-R: Jenny Kemp from Pickerings Lifts, team members from Hull Animal Welfare Trust and Ian Woodward Pickerings Lifts regional manager
On the fifth day…
Our Mobility team based in our Central office near Wakefield made a monetary donation to Henshaws Specialist College to support young people, with special needs.
At its bespoke-built campus on Bogs Lane, the College helps students prepare for employment, make friends and learn to live more independently and help make their aspirations and goals possible.
Glyn Hargreaves, Maintenance Manager at the College said: “We work at the heart of the community, creating long-lasting and real change through education, community support and enterprise and we can’t do this without these kinds of donations, so we are really grateful.”
On the sixth day…
This Christmas our Central office in Leeds supported the volunteer group at Cosy Corner Memory Café.
It offers social and emotional support to people with dementia and a chance for families and carers to meet others in similar situations. The donation will be used to fund a Christmas party.
Pauline Hope, who runs the Café, said: “I’m involved in running a number of social groups in the village including an art group, a mental health group and the Cosy Corner Memory Café which help people come together to support each other.
My ultimate goal is to ensure all public spaces and places in our community are dementia friendly. I’m delighted to accept this donation – the Cosy Corner Memory Café group will now enjoy a lovely festive celebration, thanks to Pickerings Lifts.”
L-R: Pauline Hope from Cosy Corner Memory Café and Jimmy Richardson, Pickerings Lifts regional manager
On the seventh day…
Our escalator engineers Ashton Capper, Micky Walker and Danny Dovey delivered vital food supplies to Shipley Baptist Food Centre, which is part of Bradford North Food Bank. This provides vital food supplies to local people.
The need to help disadvantaged families has never been greater, with reliance on food banks increasing as the cost of living and household bills continue to rise. We selected and paid for a grocery food order worth over £200.
Franco Biancardo, Bradford North Food Bank Manager, said: “We strongly believe that no one should ever go hungry.
That’s why we work tirelessly to ensure the thousands of people who come to us in crisis each year are supported and given emergency food supplies for at least three days.
We’re so grateful for the donation from Pickerings because it will feed many more hungry mouths and enable us to support even more people in the local community, especially as we approach the Christmas period which is our busiest time of year.”
L-R: Franco Biancardo, Bradford North Food Bank Manager, escalator engineers Ashton Capper, Micky Walker and Danny Dovey
On the eighth day…
Our North East team based in Norton put together a festive-inspired hamper to help outreach and prevention charity, A Way Out, to provide the best Christmas season they can to those in need.
A Way Out aims to engage, empower and equip vulnerable and excluded women, families and young people to live free from harm, abuse and exploitation and to reduce life limiting choices and behaviour.
Sarah McManus, CEO at A Way Out, said: “Our aim is to offer a safe space and support for women families and young people who face multiple disadvantages enabling them to live lives free from abuse, harm and exploitation.
We really appreciate the very kind donation from the team at Pickerings. Their support provides everyday essential items as well as Christmas themed gifts to help bring a little festive happiness into the lives of those we support.
Many of the women and families who come to us have been abused or exploited in some way and the work we do, with support from external agencies and local businesses like Pickerings, really does make a big difference to so many and demonstrates what can be achieved when we work collaboratively together to show that we care.”
L-R: Rob Jensen, Pickerings Lifts regional manager for the North East and Cumbria with Sarah McManus, CEO of A Way Out
On the ninth day…
James Church from our Scotland office in Glasgow presented the Friends of MacRosty Park with a donation of £200. This is a charity dedicated to the maintenance of the Park, which has been a popular attraction in Scotland and beyond for over 100 years.
Maureen Thomson, Secretary of Friends of MacRosty Park, said: “What a generous donation from the team at Pickerings Lifts.
We’re very grateful for the support and the money will be put to good use in helping to ensure the park can be used by everyone, during every season.
We’re so proud of our wonderful park and the joy it brings to so many lives. It’s a fantastic rural area and we want to protect MacRosty’s natural beauty as long as we can.”
L-R: Isabel Simpson David Hutchinson James Church (Pickerings Lifts) Maureen Thomson and Roy MacDonald
The facility, which is affiliated with the Trussell Trust, is based at Central Methodist Church in Newgate. It was founded by churches and community groups, and aims to prevent hunger in the town. Our £200 donation is a welcome boost to the foodbank and will go towards buying much-needed groceries for people in need.
Mary Ford from Pontefract Foodbank said: “Our aim is to eliminate food poverty and the need for foodbanks, but sadly every day in the UK, people go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy, poor health to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income.
No one should have to choose between eating and heating. A simple box of food can make a huge difference to people struggling financially with impossible choices to make, between food, fuel and clothing.
We are extremely grateful to Pickerings Lifts for their very generous donation, as we are for all the amazing support we receive from our community, which together with the commitment and dedication of our heroic volunteers, is vital for to us to operate effectively.”
Front: Ann Harris, Mary Ford from Pontefract Foodbank. Simon Parton and Hadyn Allen from Pickerings Lifts loading systems team
On the eleventh day…
Our London North office in Romford supplied the Ahava Community with a winter hamper containing towels, socks, hats, essential toiletries and much more to help the homeless.
Ahava Community which is a collective of local churches, businesses and individuals works to end homelessness in the borough, by supporting local homeless people in need. Since it was established in 2011, it has helped nearly 2,000 men and women in the area, providing them shelter, a warm place to stay and a hot meal when they have nowhere else to go.
Kim Merry, Founder of Ahava Community, said: “Thank you so much to the Pickerings Lifts team for this much valued donation.
It will help many local people in need, giving them towels and items such as toothbrushes, gloves and socks.
We aim to give a warm and safe place for someone to stay while they’re trying to put their life back on track.
We all have moments in need and it’s really important to come together to help those in our local community who need it.
Remember that homelessness is not just the person sitting on the floor, it could be the person sitting next to you at the bus stop or in the queue to use public toilets.
Winters are always the toughest but with donations such as the one from Pickerings Lifts, we’re able to help a lot more people which is wonderful.”
L-R: Kim Merry, Becky Spicer, Paola Carrasco Castana and Danny Livings – employees of Ahava Community
This was, in part, to show their gratitude to the Hospital after baby Mabon Mitchell, son of our lift engineer, Adam, was nursed back to health.
Elinor Freestone, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at Alder Hey Children’s Charity said: “We are really grateful to everyone at Pickerings Lifts. It is only with the support from our local communities that we can continue our work funding activities and projects that are designed to enhance and improve the lives of our young patients.”
L-R: Adam Mitchell, Pickerings Lifts engineer, Elinor Freestone corporate partnerships manager, at Alder Hey Children’s Charity and Alan McEvatt, Pickerings Lifts regional manager – Warrington
Who are Pickerings Lifts?
Pickerings Lifts is one of the oldest engineering firms in the United Kingdom, with an unbroken history of family ownership and management, now in its fifth generation.
We are the UK’s leading lift specialist company, starting from humble beginnings over 160 years ago
