- Jaguar Land Rover employees have raised £8,000 to support local charities
- Donations will provide essentials to families suffering from domestic abuse
- Food parcels and hot meals will be delivered to isolated and vulnerable people
- Employees at Halewood are volunteers for NHS
Employees at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Halewood have donated more than £8,000 of their own money to local charities affected by coronavirus.
Donations have been given to several organisations that have struggled during the pandemic, including three Merseyside food banks and Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid (SWACA), which provides essential support to families suffering from the traumatic impact of domestic abuse.
Other local charities to benefit from the donations include Radio City’s Cash for Kids, KIND and the Birchwood Centre, in Skelmersdale, which is providing hot meals to isolated and vulnerable people during the Covid‑19 crisis.
Halewood employee Neil Mercer has single‑handedly raised over £6,000 for frontline NHS staff, by dressing up as Spider‑Man on his regular runs to help cheer up locals during the lockdown. More than £1,000 of this was given by his Jaguar Land Rover colleagues.
As well as donating, hundreds of Halewood employees have been volunteering across the region – with many signed up as NHS Volunteer Responders.
All money donated by Jaguar Land Rover employees came through the Halewood Employees’ Charity Fund, which is funded entirely by employee and supplier donations.
We are a small organisation dealing with a very significant issue, in addressing the traumatic impact of domestic abuse on women and children living in Sefton.
Every day we face an on‑going challenge, dealing with the constantly high demand for our services, even before the Covid‑19 situation. As you can imagine, we are very concerned about the likely follow‑on impact, in terms of rising tensions within families living through the lockdown period.
That’s why we are incredibly grateful for this generous contribution from the Jaguar Land Rover employees as it will be used to help continue vital services over the next few weeks and allow us to reach out to those vulnerable households who will be relying on our support now, more than ever.
Chief Executive at Sefton Women's and Children's Aid (SWACA)
Neil Frackelton
We are living in unprecedented times and as a responsible business, we must do what we can to support our local communities.
There is an incredible spirit among the team at Halewood, who have blown me away with their response to the crisis.
All the money that’s been donated has come out of their own pockets and we have also been inundated with updates from staff about all the volunteering and charitable work they have been doing outside work, which makes me incredibly proud.
All the donations and the vital support they are providing will make a huge difference to many households in Merseyside which have been hardest hit by the devastating effects of this crisis.
Operations Director at Jaguar Land Rover Halewood
Trevor Leeks
Supporting long‑term partners at the British Red Cross, the Halewood plant has also lent it a fleet of its Merseyside‑manufactured vehicles, including the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport, during the Covid‑19 pandemic. The vehicles will be used to deliver essential medicine and food to vulnerable people across the UK.