Reconomy spreads community Christmas cheer

Leading provider of outsourced waste management and resource-led services, Reconomy, has announced details of a community-driven Christmas campaign, aimed at helping those in need over the festive season.

The company is running a series of company-led and staff-led initiatives, which are raising funds and donations for a host of good causes. All activities are being coordinated through the company’s industry leading Reconomy Social Value Programme (RSVP), the overarching aims of which are to build stronger community links, help vulnerable groups into work and reduce modern slavery.

As it did last Christmas, Reconomy has once again opted to forego corporate gifts for customers and partners, instead choosing to make donations to the following good causes:

Everyone In… For Good – This is Telford’s approach to the national ‘Everyone In’ Policy put in place at the beginning of the pandemic, providing emergency accommodation and the support needed to try to avoid a return to the streets for individuals finding themselves homeless. Delivered in partnership with Stay Telford, Maninplace and Telford & Wrekin Council, Reconomy will donate £1,500 to provide overnight accommodation during the coldest winter nights, getting vulnerable people off the streets.

The Purfleet Trust – Based in King’s Lynn, this charity provides support to homeless people, offering housing advice as well as health and wellbeing support. Reconomy is making a financial contribution to support the charity’s development of a warehouse facility, which will provide them with future opportunities to generate income.

Christmas gifts to care leavers – As commercial partner to the Wolverhampton House Project, which helps care leavers make the transition from care to independent adult life, Reconomy is providing sustainable (plastic-free) bathroom sets and other Christmas gifts to all 130 care leavers currently living independently within the City of Wolverhampton.

Reconomy’s staff members have also been in the giving mood, making their annual donations to children’s charity 4 Steps To A Smile for the third year running. The charity provides Christmas gifts to vulnerable children across the West Midlands. Instead of buying physical gifts as in previous years, this year donations have been made via online ‘wish lists’ with Reconomy staff members using their own money to pledge more than 150 gifts.

In addition, staff members currently working remotely are also donating food and other essential supplies to local foodbanks around the UK as part of a company initiative as well as participating in a ‘virtual Christmas Jumper Day’ to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support.

Kay Bennett, Operations Support Administrator at Stay Telford, said: “This year marks Stay’s 30^th anniversary of providing accommodation and support to homeless and vulnerable people in Telford. 2020 has been a tough year for all and fundraising has proven evermore challenging for us.  We are therefore very grateful to Reconomy for the continued support which will allow us to continue to help some of the most vulnerable people in the borough, ensuring they are brought in off the streets during the coldest winter months.”

Diane Crowe, Head of Sustainability and Social Value at Reconomy, said: “Supporting our local communities throughout the year, and particularly at Christmas, is something Reconomy does very well. Though we and our charity partners are working within the restrictions created by the pandemic, we are desperate to ensure Reconomy can still make a significant contribution to those most in need at this time of year.

“As a leading Shropshire business, we take our responsibilities to the wider community very seriously. Given the unprecedented difficulties that we have all faced in 2020, we are more determined than ever to offer up our support to those less fortunate than ourselves.”