VolkerFitzpatrick team donate their time and resources to renovate busy Islington day centre for the homeless
Recently, a team from our building division, donated their time and resources to provide the refurbishment and refreshment of ‘The Manna’, a busy day centre in Islington that helps marginalised, vulnerable and homeless people in the local community. The centre provides an invaluable service including food, laundry, showers and key work advice.
VolkerFitzpatrick have been Corporate Patrons’ of construction industry charity, CRASH since 2015 – helping to construct places that care for people who are homeless, and children and adults who need hospice care.
With the help of other CRASH charity patrons, the team donated their professional expertise to complete this project for The Manna. They renovated the shower room and added new lighting, flooring and paintwork to brighten up the space. Improved and additional storage for laundry was provided, additional clothing was donated and new furniture will be arriving soon.
Work took place in September and the centre was officially re-opened in October, now providing a warm, cosy and safe experience for its users. It has made a lasting positive impact on the community, in one of London’s most deprived areas.
Jason Fairbrass, VolkerFitzpatrick’s Operations Manager project managed the scheme, he say’s “I would like to thank all those that helped make this refurbishment possible and our incredible refurbishment project team, for their commitment, generosity and time, helping to make this amazing charity project a success. Our support and contributions to this project have provided a positive impact for the facility users, and the staff at ‘The Manna. I personally got to know some of the users, staff and volunteers during the project and can see firsthand how much the upgrades will benefit the local Islington community for years to come.
“I would also like to say a big thank you to team Manna who do such an amazing job providing care, advice and support to those that need it. It’s a great sense of satisfaction knowing that we all made a difference.”
The two-and-a-half-week project would have cost £51,365k including management costs and supplies, however with a recent VolkerFitzpatrick fundraiser which included a donation to CRASH for £10k plus a further CRASH grant of £17k – made possible thanks to the generous fundraising of the construction industry, meant that the whole project was 100% funded at no cost to The Manna.
Francesca Roberts, Chief Executive at CRASH commented “At CRASH, our Corporate Patrons underpin every charity homelessness and hospice project we deliver. My sincere thanks to Corporate Patron, VolkerFitzpatrick for their enthusiasm and dedication to support the day centre, The Manna, their donated professional expertise and generous fundraising from people across the business has left a lasting impact in the Islington community. Thanks to VolkerFitzpatrick, together we construct places that care for people.”
So far this year, VolkerFitzpatrick have raised a huge £45,526.95 through various activities including the 5th Annual Paul Lane Memorial charity golf day, held in July, participated in the Ride London-Essex event in May and taking part in the 3 peak challenge.
Photo credit: Mike O’Dwyer
