CRASH patron Bauder has continued its quest to make a practical difference to the lives of homeless people through donations of toiletry gift bags.
Bauder staff hand-delivered the wash bags to Beacon House, a busy day centre in the heart of Colchester. Each of the bags contained items that most of us would deem as necessities, but means much more to a person who has nothing.
Beacon House offers healthcare and wellbeing facilities to those who are homeless, in insecure accommodation, or at high risk of homelessness. Recognising that there are many reasons why individuals become homeless, the charity operates on the three principles of acceptance, empowerment, and change, offering opportunities for their visitors to move forward and get themselves back on track. Approximately 40 people visit Beacon House every day.
This is the third year for Bauder’s wash bag initiative and managing director Andrew Mackenzie said: “We are delighted that our gift bags were well received by the people at Beacon House. Being a patron partner of CRASH gives us the opportunity to help homeless people in a practical and tangible way and we will proactively continue to do so in the future.”
Last month, Bauder teamed up with G Baker Roofing and Xtralite to help the Emmaus Dover charity with the refurbishment of its roof.
Emmaus Dover is a self-supporting homelessness charity that offers meaningful work and support for all ‘companions’, as the former homeless people are known. Companions are able to stay as long as they wish at the facility but in return are asked to work in the community in a range of roles according to their skills, ability and interests.
In the last 12 years, there have been no new developments on the site and maintenance has generally followed a reactive approach due to limited finances.
As a result, Emmaus Dover trustees approached CRASH for urgent help to develop the site including refurbishing the main roof area, which had exceeded its serviceable life and been experiencing water ingress.
After an initial visit to the project with its fellow CRASH patrons, Bauder undertook a comprehensive roof survey and discovered amongst other issues that, because of the nature of restrictions on a Scheduled Monument, Emmaus have not been able to install many energy saving features such as double glazing, resulting in large heating and energy bills.
Consequently, it was proposed that G Baker Roofing would not only replace 300m2 of the failing existing waterproofing with Bauder’s bituminous system Bauderflex, but would also improve the thermal performance of the building with Bauder’s 120mm PIR FA-TE insulation. 11 Xtralite rooflights were also installed to effectively provide daylight and ventilation to the interior.
In order to make this renovation project possible, CRASH awarded a grant of £30,000 to help restore the building’s structure, while Bauder, G Baker Roofing and Xtralite provided expert technical advice and all roofing materials free of charge.
