News: Celebrating 25 years of constructing places that care for people

18 June 2021

Guest blog from CRASH

This year CRASH charity celebrates 25 years of working in partnership with the construction industry to construct places that care for vulnerable people. We are delighted to be supported by SECBE as their chosen charity at the Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards 2021.

Over the last five years, guests at the Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards have raised an impressive £29,587 in aid of CRASH. Your generous donations have supported these important projects helping people who have been homeless, and children and adults who need end of life care in a hospice.

CRASH helps homelessness charities and hospices navigate the complex and costly process of construction with confidence. We empower them to make informed decisions and create the best quality environments for the lowest possible cost. Importantly, our support allows charities to focus on delivering essential services to people in need.

The specialist care these organisations give to vulnerable people in our communities is vital and our work supporting them has never been more needed.

Despite lockdowns, CRASH continued working on vital construction projects, and thanks to the generous donations and fundraising of the construction industry we were able to award grants to charities that needed our help.

For example, CRASH recently awarded Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice £30,000 to create 22 new parking spaces for patients, their families, and clinicians, improving the experience and reducing the stress when visiting the hospice. The grant, combined with pro-bono professional expertise from CRASH Corporate Patrons, meant that we contributed a whapping £69,922 to the project.

CRASH's involvement meant the hospice only had to pay a small proportion of the overall costs and enabled Phyllis Tuckwell to focus their resources on doing what they do best, supporting patients, their carers, and families in the local community now and in the future.

We have also been busy supporting several homeless charities to make their accommodation covid-safe, such as adding additional bedrooms and reconfiguring existing accommodation, creating safe places for people to call home. Kairos Community Trust desperately needed more space for people who have been homeless and recovering from addiction, to stay and call home. CRASH Corporate Patrons and supporters came together and converted a three-bed house into an 8-bedroom, 5-bathroom home.

'It is so reassuring to have such professional, dedicated and kind people giving real, genuine, quantifiable help. The transformation of this house has been truly extraordinary: beautiful spacious rooms, comfortable living/dining area, a new purpose-built, fully equipped kitchen and a garden with huge potential for relaxation and enjoyment. The house is now full and supporting residents in recovery from homelessness and addiction. From concept to completion, the CRASH input and support has been immense and incredibly reassuring. This is a CRASH house – it's the only way of saying it." Mossie Lyons, Director at Kairos Community Trust

To donate to CRASH charity, please visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/ceawardscrashcharity

If you are donating as a company and need a receipt or invoice equivalent, please contact fundraising@crash.org.uk.