Sew there you are

[Online PR for slum charity Child of Hope]

Quite a while back we had a very generous donation to help our beleaguered school tailor.  Finally, after a lot of research we have good news. 

Sarah makes over 400 uniforms each year for our children, plus uniforms for our school guards, cleaners and kitchen workers. She really has her hands full and has been finding it difficult to get everything made on time using her treadle machine.   

Despite our best efforts we really struggled to find an electric sewing machine that would be ‘man enough’ for every day, heavy use.  

A couple of months ago, Bex stumbled across a tiny stall in the local market where a man was selling spare parts for industrial sewing machines.  Cutting a long story short, she sent Joseph (our new operations manager) to go and investigate and we now have two brand new industrial strength sewing machines from Kampala!  

The first machine is a standard sewing type which can run up uniforms super-fast while also able to make button holes and sew on buttons.  The second machine is an overlocker – this helps finish off the edge of the material so that it doesn’t fray.  

We had to get our friend Ken (the electrician) to come in and install power to Sarah’s small office but the smile on Sarah’s face has all been worth it! That’s her in the picture getting training from technicians. Many thanks to everyone at Wimborne Elim Church for their generosity and patience!

Welcome Basingstoke… we’ve opened our second self-storage facility!

[Photography and online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

We have expanded by opening an all-new self-storage facility in Basingstoke. 

The new branch is located in the former B&Q premises in Houndmills, Basingstoke, and has been fitted out with its first round of 258 storage rooms.

It is expected to be used widely by businesses and charities for holding stock, plus families and individuals needing temporary storage.

Storage rooms start from £5 per week.

It provides units for local businesses in rooms varying from three square feet up to 1,500 square feet, plus optional 24/7, drive-up storage rooms.

And like at Bournemouth, the facility will also rent out suites of serviced offices of various sizes, available for rent at short notice and for any period of time.

Environmentally sound

[Photography and online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

Our accreditation to environmental management system ISO 14001 since 2011 is a clear statement that environmental impact is constantly measured and improved at Groveley. 

As part of our drive for continuous environmental improvement, everyone benefits… customers, suppliers, company management and employees.

Scroll back through our news and you’ll find regular enhancements and discoveries that have improved our processes, cut waste and reduced our carbon footprint.

Of course ISO 14001 demonstrates our compliance with current and future statutory and regulatory requirements. After all, accreditation is a third-party certification – we don’t just say we’re achieving these things, they’re all documented and measured.

But there’s more… it encourages better environmental performance by our suppliers because we integrate them into our business systems. Not to mention, a competitive and financial advantage through improved efficiencies and reduced costs! It’s well worth it.

Great fun with music

[Online PR for Uganda slum charity Child of Hope]

We are excited to show off our new musical instruments.  Music and dance are very much an integral part of Ugandan culture and we were really keen to get more instruments in order to expand and motivate our musicians! 

UK school Dauntsey Academy Primary School in Wiltshire answered our prayers by raising funds for us at a special music event. We sent off Joseph (our operations manager) to Jinja to find the instruments as they are not made in our town, Mbale.  

We were absolutely delighted when he came back with a brand new huge xylophone, drums, harps, pipes, shakers and more dancing skirts. Even the staff got excited and joined in, although judging by the noise, more practice is required! Many thanks again to Laura Wiltshire and all at Dauntsey Academy for making this happen for us! More pics...

It’s new uniform time!

[Online PR for charity Child of Hope]

It’s always exciting when we hand out new uniforms, and this year was no exception with our nursery children. It’s no easy task getting over 100 small children into new t-shirts and shorts … but after turning things back round the right way, rescuing some stuck heads and getting a leg in each hole… we made it!  

Breaking Every Chain is written on the back of every T-shirt. This is our school motto and it’s what motivates us to help every individual child and family… breaking the chains of poverty, ignorance and injustice – every single day.

Click for more pictures showing the nursery top and middle class getting their uniforms.

Stuart raised nearly £2k in London Marathon

[Online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

Groveley’s operations manager Stuart Leaper raised £1,961 when he ran the London Marathon a couple of weeks ago – and it’s all going to benefit Poole Hospital Charity.

Stuart beat his target of £1,500 and ran the course in a respectable 4hrs 41 mins. He’d hoped to achieve between 4 hrs 30 to 5 hrs, and he was bang on. He says he loved the whole thing.

He wanted to help the hospital because 15 years ago he had life-changing surgery at the hospital for his hearing. Both his children were born there, too.

At this year’s London Marathon, record numbers crossed the finish line in The Mall – over 39,000 runners – including its one millionth finisher, who is yet to be named.

Stuart would now love to raise in excess £2,000 for the hospital… could you help him by donating on his JustGiving page? Here it is… www.justgiving.com/stuartleaper