Butlers Announce Charity of the Year for 2018
Following an appeal for charities to put themselves forward, Butlers has announced its first ever Charity of the Year.
The firm received several applications from good causes in and around Sleaford and held a secret vote to decide who to dedicate their fundraising efforts to over the next 12 months.
The winner was Rainbow Stars which supports autistic and disabled children and their families. Chair and founder of Rainbow Stars Jane Peck said it will make such a difference to the work they do.
“I set up the group three years ago when my own son was diagnosed with autism,” explained Jane. “As parents of a disabled child my husband and I felt very alone and struggled to access the help we needed.
“Hopefully now parents have somewhere to turn. We hold monthly play meetings, coffee mornings and parties which the whole family can enjoy. We also organise trips and our annual Family Funfest at Sleaford Rugby Club which next year will be on 27th May.
“Butlers has supported us for a number of years already by loaning us their marquee and generator free of charge, but it will be great to work with them more closely. We’re always crying out for volunteers to help out at events, so it would be lovely if some of the team could give up a few hours of their time.”
In the past Butlers has helped many local good causes; last year alone they supported over 15 different charitable events. In 2018, however, Butlers plan to focus their efforts on just one or two charities.
Company Secretary Kate Cook explained: “We are very keen to continue our charitable work but we’d like to be able to make a bigger impact next year. It was very hard to whittle down the applicants as they’re all brilliant but we particularly like Rainbow Stars as they offer help and support to families who would otherwise really struggle.
“Jane and the team are so dedicated and give up all their spare time. We’re looking forward to being able to dedicate more of our time to helping them fundraise and staff their events as well as continuing to provide them with equipment free of charge as and when they need it.
“We’ve had a great response from the staff who are all keen to get involved so I’m sure we won’t have any problem enlisting volunteers!”
The charity was announced during a Christmas shopping and mince pies event at Butlers’ electrical shop on Lions Way on the Sleaford Enterprise Park on Wednesday 6th December. During the evening Butlers raffled off a festive hamper to kick-start their efforts raising a total of £35.
Ends
Notes for editors:
- Butlers, which was originally called Ray Butler Ltd, has nearly 60 years’ experience in domestic, commercial and industrial electrical installation work.
- In 2015 the company moved from an office in the centre of Sleaford to much bigger premises on Sleaford Enterprise Park and opened a retail arm selling a wide variety of electric devices for the home including washing machines, fridges, TVs, wireless sound systems, kitchen gadgets and light fittings.
- The firm also specialises in the supply and installation of home automation systems which allows users to control all aspects of their home from heating and lighting to burglar alarms and CCTV.
- Butlers is also one of the few Government-approved Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) authorised installers in Lincolnshire. For the last couple of years, Butlers has teamed up with local supplier Rolec, who manufacture charge point equipment, and is one of their few authorised installers in the county.
- Butlers has also installed the first electric vehicle chargepoint available for public use in North Kesteven at its headquarters on Lions Way in Sleaford. To see the exact location, visit zap-map.com
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