Whilst working from home and keeping our distance has become the norm this year, the challenges presented by the pandemic made our staff more determined than ever to provide support to those in need wherever they could.
For instance, we were able to supply free gas to NHS Nightingale Hospital in Bristol at a time of critical need. These supplementary hospitals were set up across the nation to provide care to those suffering with COVID-19 and provided a crucial role in keeping the nation well.
As a part of our ‘Start from the Heart’ programme, our colleagues are used to getting hands on and helping a wide range of community initiatives. However, through lockdown and following national guidelines, this was not possible in many instances – but it didn’t deter the Calor team from wanting to help wherever possible.
So, when we found out that Bryntirion Residential Home and Min Y Mor Residential Home in Wales, charities some of our colleagues have supported using their Start from the Heart days in the past, needed a supply of water bottles for their brave and hard-working staff, we were more than happy to assist. Together, we donated 20 reusable water bottles so that each member of staff could have one to help them stay hydrated whilst they were hard at work all summer long in full PPE gear - tricky at the best of times, let alone in very hot weather!
Another small gesture we were able to make was supplying 200 cloth bags to Prince Phillip Hospital in Wales, meaning that their heroic staff would be able to pack away and wash their uniforms at the end of each busy shift.
As a business, whilst we couldn’t be together in person, we knew that looking after our loyal workforce both physically and mentally was vitally important. With that in mind we supplied each member of the Calor team with face masks to help them stay safe at all times and everyone was individually given a premium subscription to Headspace, an app that specialises in meditation and mindfulness. With tonnes of wellbeing-focused content hosted on the app, the Calor team were encouraged to take full advantage of this in whichever way suited their needs best.
This year marked our 85th anniversary, that’s over eight decades of supplying vital energy across the UK and providing real support to rural communities in every corner of the nation.
As well as various celebrations, we marked the occasion by offering £85,000 worth of grants through Calor’s Rural Community Fund to heart-warming projects across the UK; covering everything from scout hut repairs to creating an outdoor teaching space at a rural primary school.
Despite this year meaning that our much-loved Rural Community Fund had to operate in a slightly different way than usual, we were blown away and absolutely delighted by the record amount of entries (over 600 projects!) and the support shown to these projects through Crowdfunder. Through our Community Fund, these projects were able to raise a staggering amount of £234,000, in addition to the grants offered by Calor.
To celebrate our 85th year as a business, we reached out to a local resident in Warwick, Thomas O’Connell, who also turned 85 this year. To make his day extra special, one of the Calor team members baked him a delicious birthday cake. You can see him receiving his lovely cake here.
At Calor, we’re all about community. That’s why we’ve donated £2,500 to Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust. With more than 641,000 visits from patients each year, the Trust prides itself on its commitment to their 6,000 strong team. A team that works tirelessly to provide the very best treatment and support for women, children and their wider families.
Despite the unforeseen circumstances of this year, we’ve been able to mark a number of successes across the business as we continued to adapt and grow. For instance, we worked even more closely than ever before with Avara Foods, one of the UK’s biggest suppliers to supermarkets as they worked around the clock to ensure supplies got around the country at such a vital time. As a key part of Avara’s supply chain, they reached out to us in May with a thank you letter for going the extra mile to make sure they could function and maintain the flow of products to stores across the nation.
We were also delighted to be able to help out other businesses who had to overcome the impact of the pandemic. A good example of this is Coast2Coast Motorhome Hire in Cornwall who were forced to close during the UK-wide lockdown, however rather than shutting completely they chose to offer their accommodation to NHS staff who needed somewhere to safely isolate during the peak of the pandemic.
Once our team in Truro found out about this, we were delighted to step in with free fuel for the nine motorhomes, meaning that these NHS staff could have heating, hot water and the ability to cook warm meals whenever they had the time.
It has been a challenging year for all, but throughout, our colleagues have worked tirelessly and gone the extra mile to show care, compassion and support for truly heart-warming causes in various communities. We wanted to say a massive thank you to each and every one of them for all their efforts and for keeping one of our most important brand values of ‘caring’ at the core of their activities.
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