Aico invite local charities to their headquarters to celebrate their continued partnerships

Aico, the European market leader in home life safety, has recently been visited by three Shropshire-based charities to celebrate their partnerships and discuss how they can continue their ongoing support as part of their charity campaign, ‘Aico Support for Children’.

On Wednesday, 3 November, representatives from The Movement Centre, Hope House Children’s Hospices and Little Stars Baby Bank joined Aico’s Managing Director, Neal Hooper, and Community Liaison, Jane Pritchard, at the company’s headquarters in Oswestry.

Aico has supported each of these charities this year through volunteering, fundraising and donations, understanding the need for the essential work they do for children and young adults within the community and further afield.

Neal Hooper, Managing Director of Aico, comments: ‘Seeing the life-changing commitment of these three organisations inspires you to want to do more. We are proud to be able to assist in any way we can. As their focus is children, it creates the emotional commitment for all of us at Aico and HomeLINK.’

The Movement Centre, based in Gobowen, Shropshire, assists children with movement disabilities through targeted training to maximise movement control and increase their independence. The work of The Movement Centre has a significant impact upon the lives of children nationally, allowing them to interact and play like they have never been able to before. Aico have a long-standing relationship with The Movement Centre, and have held regular fundraising activities in support of the charity, such as The Captain Tom 100 Challenge.

Johnny Wilkes, CEO of The Movement Centre says of the support: ‘Aico have been instrumental in raising thousands of pounds for us, which enables us to deliver our targeted training therapy to more children; quite simply their fundraising efforts make the treatment affordable to the families who most need our help. We place immense value on our partnership and engagement with Aico.’

Hope House Children’s Hospices supports families with the provision of bespoke palliative care for children with life-threatening conditions, as well as offering counselling and bereavement support to their families. Aico are proud to be recognised as a Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith Business Champion, understanding that without business support, Hope House wouldn’t be able to continue their vital work.

Lynsey Kilvert, Fundraising Team Leader of Hope House Children’s Hospices adds: ‘We are thrilled and delighted to have the continued support of Aico. The past 18 months have been so difficult for everyone. During this time we managed to remain open to support seriously ill local children and their families despite our fundraising suffering as we were unable to hold events and our shop doors were closed. More than 85% of our running costs come from our local community, so to know that we have incredible companies like Aico supporting us is fantastic.”

Aico has also worked with Little Stars Baby Bank, through donations and marketing support. The Shrewsbury-based charity aims to help parents access the essential items they need for their babies and children. Established in July 2020, the charity has already helped 118 families, distributing over 4,500 donations to the families who need them. Supporting not only the children, but the parents too, the charity plays a critical role in the community.

Leanne Simcoe, founder of Little Stars Baby Bank comments: ‘Our partnership with Aico is extremely special. The support and dedication they provide not only to ourselves but across the charity sector is second to none. It is easy to forget they are a business as their CSR work is innovative and leading the way. Little Stars is a relatively new charity and to have a strong partnership with Aico means a great deal to us.’

To find out more about how Aico in the Community support charities, please visit: www.aico.co.uk/in-the-community/charity

To find out more about The Movement Centre, please visit: www.the-movement-centre.co.uk

To find out more about Hope House Children’s Hospices, please visit: www.hopehouse.org.uk

To find out more about Little Stars Baby Bank, please visit: www.littlestarsbabybank.co.uk