Social Responsibility

Being aware of the world around us means that we get involved in our national and local communities as well as our business networks, and we all try to dedicate some time to giving something back.

Snowdon Tate & Back Up Trust

In 2011 Snowdon Tate chose Back Up as the charity we will be supporting on a long-term basis. Selecting a charity to partner with is one of the most difficult tasks. The short but powerful message below gives a flavour for the reasons Back Up resonated strongly with us and we are proud to be able to partner with this important cause which is for everyone affected by spinal cord injury, regardless of age, level of injury, or background.

“Every eight hours, someone in the UK will experience a devastating, life altering spinal cord injury. Back Up inspires people affected by spinal cord injury to transform their lives through services such as peer mentoring, wheelchair skills training, rehabilitative courses, as well as help getting back into work or school after an injury. We help you get your life back and achieve your goals – whether these are about family, work, lifestyle, social life, travel, or simply to feel positive about the future.”

Back Up is a national charity that was set up specifically to help those who have been permanently paralysed as a result of spinal cord injury. They work with other charities supporting those with spinal cord injury and with hospitals that have specialised treatment units, such as Stoke Mandeville and Stanmore. All of the services, outdoor activities, and courses provided by Back Up help to build confidence and encourage those injured to achieve maximum independence.

The Back Up website can be found at www.backuptrust.org.uk for those who are interested in finding out more about their activities like their mentoring programme. If you would like to find out more about volunteering to support Back Up and the many events which happen across the UK each year take a look here.

Here is a selection of some of the other areas we get involved with:

The Maasai community of Women are striving for self-sufficiency through their own entrepreneurship making jewellery which they sell online.

They are not seeking long term charity, but need some help up that first big rung of the ladder.

Their greatest limiting factor is that the community lacks water, electricity and has no fixed sanitation so the ladies have to spend much of thier day walking the 7km round trip to fetch 20 litres of water at a time.

We are pleased to support this worthy cause and have nade a contribution towards funding for the borehole, which, once completed will go a long way towards helping them become self-sufficient.

For more details, please see www.madebythemaasai.com

David Sneesby is involved with his family in fund-raising and working with Whizz-Kidz and the Back Up Trust (see above). There are an estimated 70,000 disabled children and young people in the UK waiting for a wheelchair that fits their young lives. Whizz-Kidz provides disabled children with the essential wheelchairs and other mobility equipment they need to lead fun and active childhoods.

Passionate about the importance of developing skills and expertise within the supply chain and logistics sector,Beth Cauldwell is Chair of the fund raising team for Aspire, the Charitable Careers Foundation of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. Please see the latest press release on Princes Trust and a group photo.

Alastair Paton has been a state primary school governor for seven years, now acting as Vice Chair of a small village school. He finds the challenges of working in the public sector very different from his day-to-day experience in industry. It has been very rewarding to be involved in helping to agree school priorities, recruit and develop the staff and help to bring major projects to fruition.

Frances Taylor, Support Manager for Snowdon Tate, is a Branch Secretary and Events Co-ordinator for the Cats Protection Group in Berkshire. She also raises money through small local jumble sales as well as the larger events put on through Spring, Summer and Winter. Frances has a passion for big cats and supports an endangered programme run by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, to protect almost extinct big cat species.