Member Article

Charity is the real jewel in Beaverbrooks crown

Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust has handed over a landmark Blackpool building, used for years for child support services, to the resort’s frontline carers’ charity.

The historic property, formerly known as Blenheim House on Newton Drive, is to become the headquarters of Carers Trust Fylde Coast Carers Centre.

However, the charity needs to make good the mess left by metal thieves who moved in after the NHS-run child development centre relocated to Whitegate Drive Health Centre in August.

The former Blackpool Carers Centre will also begin a £750,000 capital funding campaign, £50k of which is hoped will come from the Lancashire community.

Plans for the new headquarters have been prepared pro bono by the Frank Whittle Partnership and are available to view on the charity’s website www.carerstrustfyldecoast.org ((from Monday))). The scheme will go out to tender after consultations.

The building will be renamed Beaverbrooks House in honour of the charitable trust of the St Annes-based UK-wide family run jewellery retail empire which purchased the building, for a reported six figure sum, under sealed bid from owners Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – which stipulated some form of social care continue there.

The no-strings-attached deal has been announced in National Carers Week (June 8-14) as the 10 year old charity embarks on ambitious plans to grow the service.

“We couldn’t ask for a better gift,” charity chief executive Michelle Smith admits. “Beaverbrooks have taken my breath away. They are so giving of time, expertise and support. We’re going to make Beaverbrooks House shine as the jewel in their crown.”

Beaverbrooks chairman Mark Adlestone, recently named Best Leader in the Sunday Times Best Companies List, an award he’s won four times before, explained: “We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do, that simple.

“It’s not about ticking boxes for corporate social responsibility; we’re anti the politicisation of CSR.

“For us, it’s all about sharing our success. We give because we’ve a heart to. We have great people working for us who support great charities – and that makes us feel great too. What else would we do with the money? We measure our worth not by what we own but what we give. We know the good this charity does.”

Nationally, the third generation family-run firm gives 20 per cent of post-tax profits each year to charity. Since 2000 it has given in excess of £8m. It encourages 880 colleagues to support time giving initiatives and tax efficient salary sacrifice schemes that benefit good causes. This year each employee will receive £100 to give to the charity of their choice following discussion with colleagues.

Beaverbrooks stepped in after the charity’s case was presented by their own property manager Steve Cassidy – who became a trustee of the carers charity after volunteering to help under the company’s time giving initiative four years ago.

Adlestone and director Andrew Brown, who received the MBE for services to charity, returned with a magnanimous offer to buy the property outright for the charity’s use.

“It must have been some presentation – I was hoping for an interest-free loan,” admits Steve who is now leading the working party.

“I’ve worked with Beaverbrooks for 20 years and know what Andrew and Mark are like but never expected this; I was flabbergasted. Our core value as a company is enriching lives and this will do just that for carers; it will have a significant impact on supporting people.”

The charity, which already helps more than 3000 local unpaid carers, aims to reach up to 13k more ‘hidden’ carers (a figure revealed by the last census). Blackpool Tower is lighting up blue – with magenta heart – for part of national carer’s week to shine a light on the plight of hidden carers.

The charity is also running a three month corporate Cash Quest 4 Carers business challenge to fund a Young Carers Champion – with local businesses invited to attend the launch event on Thursday from 1pm-3pm at the Village Herons Reach, Blackpool.

Blenheim House was originally built in the late 19th century as two semis detached residences for the well to do - including a brewery chief and a former director of the Winter Gardens and Tower. It is not listed.

The building was fit to move into when it closed – but metal thieves moved in and smashed through walls and ripped up floorboards to remove copper piping and other metals. Very few rooms remain intact. The damage had been done before prospective buyers viewed it in November.

Charity chief Smith adds: “From the outside it still looks fabulous; it was shocking and upsetting to see what had happened within. It’s not mindless vandalism but methodical theft by people who couldn’t care less.”

But the damage hasn’t taken the shine off the 10th anniversary gift by Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust which is believed to have paid a six figure sum under sealed bid.

Michelle stressed: “We saw past the damage to the potential. It still has everything going for it for us. It’s an epic challenge but this beautiful historic landmark has done an awful lot of good over the years and will do so again under our custodianship.”

The formal exchange of the property was made to Beaverbrooks chiefs Adlestone and Brown for use by Carers Trust Fylde Coast by NHS trust chairman Ian Johnson, chief executive Gary Doherty and deputy chief executive Wendy Swift.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jacqueline Morley .