Sewell FM’s 30-year fundraiser

Our facilities management company, Sewell FM turns 30 this year, and to celebrate, they’re going to spend the full year raising money for organisations that are close to their hearts.

The team have a whole host of events planned from running challenges to bake sales – and everything in between to support the fundraising.

£15,000 of the amount raised will be to fund the reconfiguration for the Sensory Garden at Hob Moor Community Primary Academy in York, which Sewell FM have worked with for many years. Hob Moor has a simple ethos – to provide life changing learning to every child, irrespective of any learning difficulties they may have and regardless of their gender, race, colour, religious beliefs or family background. The inclusive school supports pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to make the best possible progress in school, with access to sensory rooms and a hydrotherapy pool. The sensory garden will create a fantastic opportunity for the school to offer an inclusive area where SEND pupils can learn about biodiversity and the environment.

The rest of the fundraising total will be going to Dove House Hospice. Dove House Hospice has been caring for people in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire for almost 40 years. Patients and families are at the heart of everything they do, whether they’re caring for people at the end of their lives, providing therapies to help people with life limiting illnesses improve their quality of life, or giving much needed bereavement support to grieving families. It receives the equivalent of only 10% of its funding from central government, the remaining 90% comes from the generosity of the community it serves. This support comes in a wide variety of forms, including but not limited to, fundraising, grants, gifts in kind, charity shops, the hospice lottery and legacies.

Jonny Bottomley, Partnership Development Fundraiser at Dove house explains to us just how important fundraising is to them:

“Fundraising partnerships such as this are crucial in enabling Dove House to remain financially flexible, ensuring that the hospice is in a position to react to the needs of the public, whether that’s through the introduction of new services, or the purchases of additional equipment. Ultimately, the care Dove House provides helps to create special moments between loved ones during the darkest of times. What might enable these moments will be different to different people. The hospice provides a person-centred approach to make sure that each patient and family’s support is tailored to their needs. These special moments can range from a well-timed cup to tea, to a soothing bath, a walk through the gardens, to a re-arranged wedding on site, a visit from a family pet , to ice cream for breakfast! Fundraising is essential in allowing any and all of these moments to happen. To give an idea of how meaningful £15,000 is, it could fund the one of following;

• 1 specialist cuddle bed
• 2 specialist suction machines
• 3 specialist falls beds
• 7 specialist therapy chairs
• 7 syringe drivers- which play a vital role in managing pain, ensuring consistent wellbeing of patients on the unit
• 9 patient hoists
• 31 days (24hrs) or patient care on the inpatient unit
• 119 Nurse shifts on the inpatient unit
• 241 complementary therapy sessions for patients, family members or carers
• 600 1hr bereavement 1to1 sessions
• 750 1hr child bereavement 1to1 sessions
• 1,000 days of meals (x3 meals) for a patient on our inpatient unit
• 1,599 worry monsters and books for child bereavement sessions
• 2,000 little boxes of ‘big thoughts’ for loved ones to share

To have the support of a company that is a true cornerstone of the local community in Sewell FM means so much to everyone at the hospice. Each year, there is a significant demand to raise the funds necessary to not only continue providing specialist care but to meet the changing needs of the community through providing new services to help reach more families than ever before. For 30 years, The Sewell Group have been instrumental in not only enabling the growth of hospice services, but also safeguarding the hospice through trying times, such as the recent pandemic. The restrictions associated with Covid 19 led to the closure of so many vital services. This partnership comes at an exciting time for Dove House as a great number of new initiatives are taking off, from outpatient services to community facing support. The fundraising efforts of the staff at Sewell FM over the coming months will ensure that this progress can happen, making a truly amazing difference to so many local families.”

Over the last 30 years, Sewell FM have provided round-the-clock peace of mind, and ensuring customers’ buildings across a range of sectors are safe, legal and well maintained. Specialising in operational buildings, the FM team have recently installed the final LED lightbulb across the Hull Health Centres – the first in the UK to be fully lit by the energy saving, sustainable bulbs.

Sean Henderson, MD of Sewell Facilities Management, said: “It’s a great milestone to have been in business for 30 years, and it’s amazing to think about how many organisations we’ve worked with over that time, providing hands-on support 24/7 for schools, health centres and commercial premises. When we were founded we offered straightforward facilities management, but over the years we’ve grown to offer everything from water hygiene and fire safety compliance assessments to providing advice and guidance on making your building more sustainable. Our fantastic team are keen to celebrate our anniversary by giving back, and they’ve already got loads of ideas.”

Follow our LinkedIn page to keep up with upcoming events.

If you’d like to support our cause, you can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Sewell-FM-30-year-fundraiser

Want to put forward a team to represent your company at our golf day? We’d love for our supply chain or customers to get involved. Contact group.admin@sewell-group.co.uk