September 2023
The Bakers Foundation
Since moving to Brentwood in 2011, Bakers has placed a huge importance on charity and the community. This has been through financial donations, fundraising, volunteering, sponsorship and supplying printed material. Over the years Bakers has regularly made these donations to various charities and local clubs. As a well as supporting these charities, it provides Bakers’ staff with the opportunity to learn about the amazing work the charities do, and a great feeling knowing their hard work means the company can make these generous donations.
In Baker Labels’ 50th year Steve Baker has made a commitment to donate a fixed % of annual profits to charity.
Established in 1973, this year Bakers celebrates their 50th year of business. For this milestone anniversary, MD Steve Baker wanted to add more structure and commitment to Bakers already substantial charity contributions. The Bakers Foundation is a new sector of the company with the sole focus of donating a fixed percentage of profit every year to various good causes.
By the end of business year in August £150,000 was the final amount shared amongst good causes.
For the inaugural launch of Bakers Foundation an amount of £150,000 was donated to multiple charities. This large donation is to be shared between local charities that Bakers have previously supported, as well as new charities that staff members have suggested.
Bakers had already donated to a number of charities over previous months but in August the Bakers Foundation carefully considered where larger donations could make the biggest difference to local charities.
August 2023 Charity Donations
• Kids Inspire - £25,000
• SNAP - £25,000
• Brentwood Foodbank - £7,000
• Billericay Foodbank - £3,000
• Aching Arms - £10,000
• Wipe Away Those Tears - £15,000
• Brentwood Theatre Trust - £5,000
• POD Charitable Trust - £2,000
• Challenging MND - £10,000
Kids Inspire £25,000 donation
Kids Inspire has been one of Baker’s chosen charities since 2011 and has now donated a total of around £100,000 to the charity to date.
The Chelmsford based charity supports children, young people, and their families who are dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, and other mental health issues. More young people than ever are seeking specialised help. That's why Kids Inspire are taking the lead in delivering long-lasting mental health and trauma recovery support in Essex and beyond. They provide creative therapy, where a young person can have a weekly session with one of their specialist team members, and trauma resolution services to help children process difficult experiences. Through this therapy, they learn various skills to help them cope with and overcome life's challenges. The charity takes a holistic approach by involving the entire family in their work ensuring that the child at the centre receives sustainable support and outcomes.
“Kids Inspire are delighted to receive this generous unrestricted donation from Baker Labels and are so grateful for their continued support. The funding will help the increasing number of children and families referred to the charity for mental health and trauma recovery support to ensure they become healthy adults who lead complete and fulfilling lives. “ Paula Ashfield, Head of Fundraising
Contact: [email protected] / 01245 348707
SNAP- Special Needs And Parents £25,000 donation
SNAP is an Essex charity which provides support and advice for families with children that have special needs or disabilities. The charity’s vision is to provide a safe environment offering a wide range of support and specialist services with the aim to increase resilience and empowerment within families. SNAP has been one of Bakers’ chosen charities for a number of years. In 2022 Bakers even completed a Mud Run and the National 3 Peaks Challenge to fundraise for SNAP.
“We are extremely grateful to you for your incredible donation of £25,000. We completely overwhelmed by your continued generosity. This donation will help to fund our variety of services including the Helpline, advice sessions and activities for our children and young people. It has also covered the costs of hiring the ice-cream van and the helter-skelter inflatable for SIBS4FUN this year. Please pass along our sincere thanks to the everyone at Baker Labels for this astonishing donation and for their continued support.
With more than 4,000 families accessing SNAP, meeting the growing demand on our services is an ever-increasing challenge. Thanks to wonderful supporters like you that we can ensure local families who have a child or young person with an additional need get the essential help they need. Thank you again for your continued support.” Karen Boath, CEO of SNAP
Contact: [email protected] / 01277 211300
Brentwood and Billericay Foodbank £10,000 total donation
https://brentwood.foodbank.org.uk/ https://billericayfoodbank.org.uk/
Both foodbank locations work with the most vulnerable members of our community. Unfortunately, each year more people are finding themselves unable to afford to feed their families and having to depend on foodbanks. It is vital that foodbanks have the support of their local community. Over the years Bakers has made financial and food donations regularly to Brentwood Foodbank. For this most recent donation, Bakers decided to expand the kindness to a neighbouring foodbank.
‘A huge thank you for your very kind donation. Your continued faithfulness to the Foodbank is amazing. Thank you seems such a small word to say for your gift. Sadly, we are still seeing more and more families in need and the stories we hear of peoples’ circumstances is heartbreaking. These past few months have shown a weekly increase in need, and this is a grave concern for us all. The amazing donations we receive help us to ensure, hopefully, that no one goes hungry.’ Julia Bowler, Brentwood Foodbank
Aching Arms £10,000 donation
Aching Arms provides comfort to bereaved parents who have lost a baby during pregnancy, birth or soon after. They provide comfort bears to 170 hospitals and hospices so they can be given to families in their darkest moments. Parents can also request the bears directly from the charity. In 2022 Aching Arms donated 5,000 bears to parents. Along with providing bears they also offer support services and raise awareness. Aching Arms first got into contact with Bakers in 2021 to ask for help with their packaging. Since then, not only have Bakers provided address and logo labels to Aching but they have also donated and sponsored programmes.
‘Wow! £10,000 is a such a fantastic donation to our small, but rapidly growing charity, thank you all so very much. It has come just as the budget for our next financial year has been finalised. With costs rising and fundraising quite a challenge, this Baker Labels donation allows me and the team to breath a bit easier. It is incredibly powerful to know that businesses like yours are there to support us through these tricky times.’ Leanne Turner, Founder and CEO
Contact: [email protected] / 07876504042
Wipe Away Those Tears £15,000 donation
Wipe Away Those Tears is another Essex based charity. Its aim is to grant a wish and ‘bring a sparkle’ into the lives of terminally ill children. Every penny raised goes directly to funding a wish for these children, no matter how big or small. MD Steve Baker has previously attended and participated in charity events in support of the charity, so he wanted to include it with the launch of Bakers Foundation
“I honestly cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are to everyone at Baker Labels for such a kind and generous donation. This has given Wipe Away Those Tears a much-needed boost, to enable us to continue granting special wishes for children in Essex with life limiting or life threatening illnesses.” Gail O’Shea, Founding Trustee
Contact: [email protected]
Brentwood Theatre Trust £5,000 donation
Brentwood Theatre is a local theatre that has regular show performances and cinema screenings. They also promote performing arts and culture events within the community. Bakers have previously worked with Brentwood Theatre in the Brentwood Half Marathon organising team. As a charity the theatre receives no public subsidy so financial donations are a great support.
The £5000 donation will form a kind of sponsorship of Brentwood Theatre to aid running costs. Bakers recognises the value in supporting such an important and valuable community venue that provides art and culture.
Contact Ian Southgate [email protected] / https://brentwood-theatre.co.uk/
POD Children’s Charity £2,000 donation
POD is a charity that funds entertainers to visit children in hospital and perform for them every month. The first visit was in Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1977 and they have been creating smiles ever since. They provide fun, magic and laughter to children in over 150 hospitals and hospices throughout the UK.
“The Pod visits to our ward, Rainbow Centre, at Newham university hospital make such a difference to the daily routine of the children and young patients and their families. Craig’s (Skittleman) visits bring so much laughter, smiles and excitement from not just the patients but their families too, as well as the staff working here, it brightens their day.” Hamera Elahi, Healthcare Play Specialist
Contact: Margaret Munford MBE margaret@[email protected]
http://www.podchildrenscharity.com/
Challenging MND £10,000 donation
Challenging MND is a charity which provides financial support and assistance to those living with motor neurone disease, to complete any challenges or experiences. Motor neurone disease causes the deterioration of muscles over time so the charity aims to remove any financial obstacles that someone may have to creating long-lasting memories.
“We are absolutely blown away with your generosity and enthusiasm for our charity. Thank you so very much. It comes at a time where sustainable resources are so important to us as we have grown exponentially in the last 6 months… and where we were supporting 5 families per month it is now around 15.” Liane Iles, CEO
Contact Liane Iles CEO [email protected] https://challengingmnd.org/
Bakers was delighted to make these donations and looks forward to seeing how their contribution has supported these good causes.
Through the continuing success of the business, Bakers looks forward to seeing the Foundation’s donations growing each year and supporting and more charities. As well as charity donations Bakers sponsors local sports teams Brentwood Rugby Club and Great Danes Women’s Football. This year, they are title sponsors for local charity event Brentwood Half Marathon. To see more on Bakers’ work with charity and community visit https://www.bakerlabels.co.uk/the-team/charity-and-community/
2023 has been a big year for Bakers
As the company’s 50th year it not only saw the launch of The Bakers Foundation but they also were extremely proud to receive ‘Global Converter of the Year’ award at Labelexpo in Brussels on the 11th September. This award was given to “a printing/converting company who has encouraged a diverse and inclusive work environment, developed a comprehensive training programme and contributed to community/charity initiatives.”
This global recognition for Bakers’ commitment to their staff wellbeing and community, confirms the impact they have been able to make. Not only are they proud of the change they have been able to make in their community, but they also hope to serve as an inspiration for other printers and local businesses.
