The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for everyone across Britain. However, this period has also ushered in a new wave of community altruism from individuals and companies alike. From equipment and financial donations, to citizen volunteers, the nation has come together to help those who are vulnerable and ensure that they don’t face this crisis alone. As restrictions tighten once more, it’s important that this amazing sense of community continues beyond the pandemic.
From production line changes, to providing meals for the homeless, Britain’s business community responded swiftly to challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some companies dealing with diminished levels of business activity, a renewed sense of collectivism has swept the nation, and this has helped to reduce societal damage caused by the virus. For many, this unprecedented event has reaffirmed the importance of social connectedness and highlighted how interconnected our lives are. As a result, there’s been a surge in volunteering across the country, on both a corporate and personal level.
In fact, during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, around one million UK citizens signed up to support the NHS’ national volunteer scheme. Additionally, on a local level, community groups have reported being overwhelmed by the high amount of volunteer applications they’ve received. During the height of the pandemic, volunteer centres in Croydon and Staffordshire received hundreds of new applications each day. Likewise, Havering volunteer centre in Romford reportedly took half a year’s worth of volunteer applications in a single day. Similarly, Volunteering Matters, a national volunteer charity, which normally receives 20 to 30 applications a week, received more than 3,000 enquiries during two weeks in April alone. In politically divisive times, increased participation in volunteering could help bring fragmented communities together and promote greater awareness and gratitude for others’ contributions to our society.
Within our own industry, we’ve also witnessed some fantastic pieces of charitable work. One of our customers, Travis Perkins, has been working proactively throughout the pandemic to continue its support of the cancer charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. To this end, the company has donated around 10,000 masks to Macmillan Cancer Support nurses across the UK. Similarly, the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), the UK’s main trade body for builders’ merchants and their suppliers, has co-ordinated the diversion of in-demand PPE equipment away from builders’ merchants towards hospitals and healthcare facilities instead.
Over the past five years, Wienerberger has fostered a community mindset amongst our staff which has resulted in some incredible partnership projects having a real and positive impact for our local communities. Our social responsibility aims are simple: recognise Wienerberger as a corporate citizen and play an active role within the communities in which we operate. We support STEM activities such as ‘The Sixteen Thousand’ project, in which we provided materials to 150 nurseries across Hull to create a public art exhibition containing 16,000 bricks. Wienerberger also makes targeted product donations to enhance community buildings and infrastructure, such as village halls and sports pavilions. The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of donating towards community assets. Such donations can be used to create new spaces for community members to meet, socialise and build friendships, helping to provide a foundation for increased community cohesion. In turn, these informal networks can prove invaluable during times of crisis.
Our most recent product donation was to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, which supports the construction of a new area demonstrating how visitors could create a garden in small and urban spaces. A much-needed skill to boost wellbeing in a busy city such as Birmingham, alongside promoting biodiversity in an urban environment. The £40,000 Urban Garden feature received funding from Calthorpe Residents Society and Birmingham City Council’s Local Innovation Fund. In addition, Wienerberger has supplied brick slips for the project, helping to transform an unloved area of Birmingham Botanical Gardens into a mock-urban oasis. The Urban Garden feature is scheduled to open in the Autumn and will invite children from across the Midlands to learn about horticulture and nature.
With so much great community work happening right now, we can all do our part to keep the momentum going. At Wienerberger, we’re committed to supporting projects around the country, which help to bring people together.
To learn more about the charitable support available from Wienerberger and to make an application, please visit our donation site here.
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