Fire Fighters Charity collects over 400 tonnes of clothing

by Featured News

The Fire Fighters Charity’s annual Bag it and Bank It Recycling Championship campaign has seen the collection of more than 400 tonnes of unwanted clothing.

Every January the charity asks supporters to drop any unwanted clothing off in recycling banks across the UK, both outside a fire station or in their community. More than 400 tonnes of unwanted clothing dropped off at its clothing banks outside 966 fire stations, helping to divert it from landfill.

Donations of 405 tonnes of unwanted clothes in January, raised a record-breaking £89,162 from fire stations alone. Meanwhile, when looking at all UK recycling points, including other community sites, the total stands at 457 tonnes overall – bringing in a grand total of £96,394.

Chatteris Fire Station in Cambridgeshire took first place for the second year in a row – both in England and UK-wide. The team there donated 4.68 tonnes of unwanted clothing, with an impressive £1,030 raised.

Cwmbran Fire Station took the top spot for Wales this year. Having come 14th last year, they nearly doubled their collection this time round to win the Welsh title. Altogether they collected 2.95 tonnes of clothing, raising £649.

Kilsyth Fire Station came 3rd last year in Scotland and are now Scottish champions for the first time, having collected 1.75 tonnes – which raised £384.

The Fire Fighters Charity marks 80th anniversary

by Featured News

2023 marks 80 years since The Fire Fighters Charity was formed during the second world war, providing eight decades of life-changing support, fundraising activities and hugely generous donations from supporters.

From supporting the bereaved families of WWII firefighters to providing online support to thousands of members of the UK’s fire family today, te charity has come a long way since 1943.

The Charity is set to celebrate the milestone with a series of fundraisers, corporate events and celebrations, and is asking for help to make it a year to remember.

From January, the organisation will be sharing the achievements, memories, photos, special moments and recollections of beneficiaries and supporters and has asked for anyone who has been supported by them, fundraised or have any kind of special memory, to reach out.

The fundraising group has asked for anyone with memories, photos and thoughts to contact marketing@firefighterscharity.org.uk and they will be added them to a UK-wide collection over the course of the year. 

The Fire Fighters Charity releases 2021/22 impact report

by Featured News

The Fire Fighters Charity has unveiled its Impact Report for 2020/21, which has been published to coincide with the organisation’s Annual General Meeting.

2021/22 saw the return of the Charity’s face-to-face services, with the introduction of new programmes and diversified digital solutions to meet the needs of its ‘fire family’ in the wake of the pandemic.

Introducing the Impact Report, Chief Executive Dr Jill Tolfrey said: “When we started the journey set by our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, Covid was just beginning to take hold and the early part of 2021/22 saw us adapting to a changed world of social distancing and mask wearing.

“However, welcoming our workforce and beneficiaries back and being innovative in our delivery of services showed how fleet of foot we were in responding to need and in adapting to how we support our beneficiaries when circumstances change. This transformative approach to our ways of working continued throughout 2021/22 and continues today.”

The latest financial year saw the Charity further developing and diversifying its digital solutions to support people in need and to proactively support its whole fire family with accessible information and advice.

The Charity also launched its Reset Programme, Covid Recovery Programme, My Fire Fighters Charity app and more.

In early 2022, thh Charity celebrated a milestone cumulative income for clothes recycling, topping £5million – from 30,744 tonnes of clothing since 2009, and its Fire Family Fundraisers raised £348,594, including a team from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service who cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, John Baines, wrote in the Report: “As I have reflected on the impact we had on the lives of so many people and the innovative ways we delivered that support, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, I have been once again reminded of our Charity’s incredible ability to overcome challenges.”

He added: “The Charity’s fleet-of-foot ability to meet the needs of the fire community has been an ever-present hallmark of the way we have supported people over the last 79 years. The Queen, in a letter to our then Chair in June 2002, stated that we were an ‘outstanding charity.’ As we look towards our 80th anniversary in 2023, I think this statement is as true as ever.

“In the years ahead I have every confidence that we will continue to reach out and deliver first class services to more people across our beneficiary base and explore every avenue possible to secure the income we need to do so. Your support, as ever, is central to our ambitions for the years ahead. Thank you.”

Read the Impact Report in full here.

Next generation of Scottish firefighters complete charity challenge

by Featured News

Seventy trainee firefighters from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have ascended 3,408 metres – the combined total of the Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – in just one hour in a charity challenge to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity and the SFRS Family Support Trust.

They climbed using a 13.5m ladder pitched to the third floor of a building within the SFRS National Training Centre in Cambuslang, on August 6 and 12. The trainees, split into two groups, rose to the challenge in the annual charity ladder climb. The total funds raised currently stands at over £2,000.

Station Commander Thomas Mortimer said: “It’s really important for our recruits to get involved as much as they can and join in with fundraising events like this.

“They’ve all worked extremely hard in their training and it’s fantastic that they are able to give back to two vitally important charities.

“Many of our new trainees have not heard of both charities before, but it could be themselves and their families that utilise their services in the future.

“Both charities do great work for our firefighters so it’s important that we can do our bit in order to raise funds for the charities that support our crews and their loved ones.”

Fiona Reid, Community, Corporate and Events Fundraiser for The Fire Fighters Charity said: “It’s great to see the trainees coming back and fundraising for The Fire Fighters Charity after events such as this were paused during the pandemic.

“The trainees have raised over £2,000 split between The Fire Fighters Charity and the Family Support Trust. That really goes a long way in supporting both charities to do great things.

“We support fire and rescue service personnel across the UK with their physical, mental and social wellbeing and it’s been really tough over the pandemic. A lot of fundraising stopped but it’s great that these events have come back and hopefully the trainees will get into the mind of fundraising and when they get positioned on station, they’ll keep that going.”

Fire-safety firm Chubb launches volunteer programme

by Featured News

Provider of fire-safety and security solutions Chubb has launched an employer-volunteer programme to encourage employees to give their time, skills and energy to help improve the communities in which it operates.

Under the name charitAble the community engagement programme has been designed to promote leadership development and environmental stewardship through employee volunteerism and contributions to worthy community organisations and schools.

Employees looking to take part are required to form a team of three or more members and select a non-profit organisation or school to work with on a volunteer project. All approved projects will receive a £500 grant from Chubb and employees will be given two paid days off per year to volunteer.

Priority will be given to volunteering requests that provide value in seven focus areas: science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; sustainable urbanisation; safety and security; hunger and food waste; disaster relief; diversity and inclusion; and vibrant communities.

Carla Sousa, Director of Marketing Communications at Chubb, said: “We wanted to launch a community engagement programme that all of our employees could get involved with, no matter what their role or skill set. With charitAble employees have the opportunity to play a vital role in their local communities, whilst developing invaluable team building and leadership experience.

“We’re very excited to facilitate this opportunity for our employees and to see the difference they can make to their local communities.”

To find out more visit Chubb’s community engagement page.

Cottenham firefighter rallies community to donate face masks

by Projects

A Cottenham based firefighter has rallied his local community to donate face masks to a hospice charity. Crew Commander Roger Pake raised more than £2,000 to cover the cost of 700 N95 masks for staff at Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge.

Roger said: “I saw the plea from the charity on Facebook and felt I could help. I know people that have family members looked after by the hospice, plus my wife works there so I am fully aware of the great work they do. This is why I was very keen to do something to help.”

Roger divides his time between running his own business as an electrician and being available to respond to emergencies as an on-call firefighter from Cottenham Fire Station.

He added: “I knew I could use contacts from my business to source masks for the staff at the hospice, so decided to see if my Facebook friends wanted to get involved and donate some money to fund them. I have been truly overwhelmed by the response and the generosity of people. I had no idea that I’d receive this much support.”

Hospice Matron Carly Love added: “We are so grateful to Roger and all those who contributed to the collection and the purchase of 700 masks. This is vital equipment that the hospice currently needs to enable the excellent care that they deliver in the community to continue and ensure that the patients that still need the help of the hospice continue to receive this vital service. We were truly touched by this generous donation; it really will make a difference.”