Last Thursday marked the end of Halewood’s incredible 12 Days of Christmas campaign, which showcased all the fantastic charitable work our employees had been getting up to during the festive countdown.
2020 has been a year like no other but when it comes to kindness, our people have shown it in abundance and over the last twelve days we have seen them go above and beyond once more to help support some of the most vulnerable people in our local communities.
Highlights include donating over 6000 essential food items and toiletries to Knowsley Foodbank, which will feed hundreds of families; presenting cheques for £60,000 to local charities through Halewood Employees’ Charity Fund, which is funded entirely by employee and supplier donations, as well as collecting 175 new toys and pyjamas for vulnerable children.
The list goes on and we couldn’t be more proud of the community spirit you have all shown which will help to make a huge difference to so many people and families in Merseyside this Christmas time.
We have included a quick round up of the 12 Days of Christmas activity below and remember you can still access the full articles on our JLR Community Halewood Facebook page!
Day 1: Wednesday 2 December
Thanks to Jay Round from Off Track for kicking off our 12 Days of Christmas campaign by opening the doors on our first-ever Halewood Foodbank Takeover! We converted our Admin People Centre, in Trim and Final, into a temporary foodbank to help support Knowsley Foodbank which is in desperate need of essential food items.
Day 2: Thursday 3 December
It was the final day of the Halewood Foodbank Takeover and over the two days our employees donated more than 6000 essential food items and toiletries to Knowsley Foodbank.
Day 3: Friday 4 December
On the 3rd day of Halewood’s 12 Days of Christmas campaign, we spoke with Rob Fearns, Group Leader on Trim and Final Zone 3 Door line and CEO of Charlies Chance- Halewood’s former Charity of the Year for 2018/19. We had the pleasure of presenting Rob with a £55,000 cheque for Charlies Chance which was generated entirely from Halewood employee donations, from fundraising events over the last eighteen months.
Day 4: Monday 7 December
And they’re off! A fleet of cars packed with 6000 essential food items and toiletries leave Halewood for Knowsley Foodbank. The donations were made by our employees as part of our first-ever Halewood Foodbank Takeover and will help to feed hundreds of families in Merseyside this Christmas.
Day 5: Tuesday 8 December
We speak to Jess Harman, from the Communications Team, who along with fellow Halewood employees, has been making regular donations to Sefton Baby Baskets. Sefton Baby Baskets is a charity which supports new mums and families by providing a Moses basket filled with essential items for mother and baby including clothing, bedding and toiletries for those in need.
Day 6: Wednesday 9 December
Halewood employees donate £2000 to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and we speak to Halewood Employee of the Year, Neil Plews, who along with teammate Marc Mellows will be walking 1000 miles in the New Year, in a team of 10, to raise money for Alder Hey’s 7 in 10 Children Appeal.
Day 7: Thursday 10 December
The children from Plantation Primary School, who normally come to Halewood every December to sing Christmas carols for our employees, send us a very special video performance to help spread some Christmas cheer. If you haven’t watched it already, you can view it here and we guarantee it will make you smile. An employee donation for the school was made via our MOTORVATE scheme.
Day 8: Friday 11 December
Lots of you turned up at Halewood donning your finest festive jumpers to raise money for Save the Children’s annual Christmas Jumper Day. We’ve never seen such wonderous woollies so a huge thank you to everyone who took part.
Day 9: Monday 14 December
A huge thank you to Pat Thomson and his team in the Press Tool Room, who along with Press Maintenance and Production, donated 175 new toy and pyjamas to local charity, an Hour for Others. The toys were sent out that afternoon to hundreds of families in need across Merseyside.
Day 10: Tuesday 15 December
We received a very special video message from Dan Halliday, one of the fundraisers at Claire House Children’s Hospice, who wanted to thank our Halewood employees for donating £4000 to the charity through its Employee Charity Fund.
Day 11: Wednesday 16 December
They say charity starts at home which is why Halewood’s Duncan McDermott and family like to do their annual Secret Santa collection a bit differently. Instead of buying each other gifts, Duncan, his wife, fellow brother and sister in laws’ each put £50 into a Santa hat and each nominate a charity they would like to support. The charity whose name gets picked out then receives the proceeds of the £250 collection and this year, it was Duncan’s chosen charity, an Hour for Others, which was crowned the winner.
Day 12: Thursday 17 December
Press coverage celebrating the work of our Halewood employees for donating 6000 essential food items to Knowsley Foodbank, as part of our Foodbank Takeover. A huge thank you to Jay Round who was the inspiration behind this campaign and has set up a permanent collection point in the Trim & Final People’s Centre, so we can continue to support this incredible charity