Each month, Professional Builder will be focusing on a builder who’s utilising his skills to give back to his community and clients. In this edition we focus on Eddie Irons, who completed a charity project with help from Henrad Radiators.
Every year, for the past five years, heating installer Eddie Irons from Southampton has undertaken one installation entirely for the benefit of a local charity as part of his desire to give a little bit back to the local community in which he has lived for the past twenty years. His latest annual install donation will support Oakhaven Hospice in nearby Lymington. Oakhaven Hospice provides specialist palliative care and support to those facing a life-limiting illness and to their loved ones, in both a home and hospice setting. They rely entirely on donations to continue their vital work in the local community.
Eddie requests support from heating manufacturers to provide the equipment free of charge so the payment for the job can be passed on to charity without deductions for any of the equipment used in the installation or his time and expertise.
This year’s installation took place at the home of Rachel Beckingham who is moving from Essex to Hythe and has purchased a maisonette in Hythe that required significant work including a new heating system and electrical work before she moves in.
One of the companies asked to support this charitable event was Henrad Radiators, part of the Stelrad Radiator Group. The company was happy to donate five of its Henrad Compact radiators to provide heat around the home. Eddie and his No. 2, Paul Winter had to strip out the existing Economy 7 Electrical heating system Rachel had inherited from the previous owner and replace it with the Henrad radiators.
“It’s become an important thing for me to do every year,” says Eddie. “This is the second year we have supported Oakhaven, which really needs all the help it can at the moment following the Covid problems we’ve all experienced. I am delighted that as a result of the day and the support we’ve had, we will be able to donate the full cost of the installation – close to £5,000 – to the hospice at a time when they so badly need help with funding. The pandemic has hit their income drastically and any donations were more than gratefully received as you can imagine.
“I’d like to thank Henrad and all the other companies that helped with this installation. It’s only through their generosity that I can do this and I’m already looking forward to doing the same again next year.”
For further information on Henrad Radiators visit https://www.henrad.co.uk/
Builders urged to join in charity ‘Big Brew’ to tackle mental health crisis
The national campaign will encourage tradespeople to connect and talk over a cuppa in a bid to remove the taboo around mental health. The brainchild of Band of Builders (BoB), the charity is organising a range of events on construction sites and at builders’ merchants up and down the UK to encourage people within the industry to come together to discuss mental health issues and support one another, breaking down the stigma around mental health – and also helping the charity fund its vital services. Anyone can host a Big Brew – and builders wishing to register to host their own events can visit:
