ElectricalNews

Screwfix Foundation pledges to help charities for its 10th anniversary

Set up in 2013, The Screwfix Foundation has been donating to charities and non-profit organisations to help fix, repair, maintain and improve facilities for those in need.

Screwfix customers, colleagues and suppliers, have raised an incredible £13 million over the last 10 years, which has been donated to more than 2,500 organisations. In the last two years alone, the more than half a million people have been impacted by donations from The Screwfix Foundation.

Every quarter The Screwfix Foundation receives more than 1,000 requests for funding. The need to support worthwhile causes in our communities is higher today than ever. John Mewett, Trustee, shares, “If we donated much-needed funds to every request we receive, we would have to raise over £20 million each year!”

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the trustees decided to reinvigorate the charity, including its branding. Designed in-house by Spark Studio, the new branding is being launched to take on the next chapter of the foundation’s journey.

Liz Bell, Trustee, explains, “Customers and colleagues enable us to donate around £400,000 every quarter to charities and not-for-profit organisations, no ‘thank you’ is big enough for what they do to make this possible. As we head into Christmas, we are hoping to raise more than ever before in our raffle to help local communities. I especially love how our colleagues will go the extra mile to find ways to raise money too!”

The Screwfix Foundation has supported projects from renovating counselling rooms to funding kitchens for people with disabilities. Spadework, an independent charity based in Offham, provides opportunities for adults with disabilities has been supported to convert a room into a studio for its trainees to make their podcasts. A spokesperson says, “Sometimes, adults with learning disabilities are unable to get their voices heard. Creating podcasts is a brilliant way to explore creativity without fear of judgement and improve social skills and confidence at the same time. We would like to send a very big spadework ‘thank you’ to the Screwfix Foundation.”

The Vale Pantry, a social supermarket that helps over 360 families each week who struggle financially and face food insecurity, installed a new floor and air conditioning in its store with the donation it received from the foundation.

A refuge in Cambridgeshire, which provides safe and stable accommodation for women and children fleeing high risk domestic abuse, has refurbished its counselling rooms with its donation. A spokesperson says, “Having a room with new furniture and decoration means so much to the women and children we support. Moving to a refuge is very daunting and to walk into a room with home comforts, new beds, wardrobes, and floors makes the families feel valued and welcomed. Thank you to The Screwfix Foundation for supporting us in our refurbishment, and giving families who use our facilities the accommodation they deserve.”

Kelvin Jackson, Trustee of The Screwfix Foundation, says, “Since becoming a trustee in 2022, I was amazed at the requests we received. I had never thought about how charities often don’t get funding for fixing, repairing or maintaining their buildings, so being able to see how we can help is amazing. Visiting some of charities has shown me first-hand how the little things make a big difference.”

The generous donations from Screwfix’s customers, suppliers and colleagues have also enabled the foundation to donate funds to its charity partner, Macmillan Cancer Support. To date, more than £700,000 has been donated to the Macmillan Grant Scheme which provides home improvements for those affected by cancer.

The Screwfix Foundation has received more than 34 million donations from customers rounding up payment for their orders on Screwfix.com, raising over £5.6 million.