Member Article

Siddall & Hilton Products provides new fencing for Huddersfield children’s hospice

As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting charities serving the local community, Brighouse-based welded steel mesh manufacturer Siddall & Hilton Products has provided a 130m perimeter fence and pedestrian gate for children’s hospice Forget Me Not in Huddersfield as well as making a £2,000 donation to the charity to cover the cost of installing the new fencing.

The company has worked with Forget Me Not, which supports children with life-limiting conditions and their families across West Yorkshire, since the Siddall & Hilton Products team nominated the charity last year as one that they were keen for the company to support. Having provided hampers last Christmas, when the business heard that the charity needed to make the site around its Russell House hospice more secure by replacing old wooden fencing, it immediately stepped in to help.

As well as donating its profiled 3D fencing panels, Siddall & Hilton Products also covered the cost of the supply of fixings, posts and a wide pedestrian gate from one of its customers as well as enlisting the help of coating supplier, Northpoint, which poly-powder coated the complete fencing system free of charge. In addition, the Brighouse company made a donation to pay for the installation by Firth Fencing in Huddersfield which provided its services at cost.

Gareth Pierce, director of Forget Me Not, commented: “It’s fantastic to have the support of a local business like Siddall & Hilton Products. Their provision of our sturdy new fencing, which blends in so well with the existing hedges and shrubbery, gives us more secure grounds for the children to enjoy. We will also be able to reallocate our funds towards other expenditure, such as investing in improving our gardens – we’re currently looking for a landscape gardener to employ to undertake the work, so please let us know if you can help.

“We really appreciate the Siddall & Hilton Products team recognising our vital work with children with life-shortening conditions and their families – donations from local businesses and individuals enable us to continue to provide support for families throughout the area.”

Pam Jackson of Siddall & Hilton Products, explains: “After carrying out an employee survey in 2020 to find out which charities our team was most keen to support, we have been working with Forget Me Not, the British Heart Foundation and Overgate Hospice to help them however we can.

“Having enjoyed another successful year, Siddall & Hilton Products has donated £2,000 to each of our team’s three chosen charities which was equivalent to the special ad hoc bonus we gave to all colleagues in April after our record financial results for 2021. As a business, we are committed not only to listening to our colleagues in order to become the employer of choice, but also to giving back to the community in which we work.

“We are proud to have been able to support Forget Me Not in this way and hope that we will be able to continue to help them in the future by extending the fence around more of the site.”

In 2021, Forget Me Not celebrated 10 years since Russell House was built and made a number of improvements to the building and grounds as it prepares for the future. With its garden consisting of planted and open spaces with pods and indoor private spaces that families can use as quiet areas, and even a pirate ship, the charity has this year added a wheelchair swing to its purpose built playground, kindly supported by The Wooden Spoon Society.

Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice is a modern, pioneering children’s hospice based in Huddersfield which supports families of babies and children with a life-limiting condition from across West Yorkshire from diagnosis, through bereavement and to a life beyond loss. The charity supports families in the community, in their own homes and at Russell House, its purpose built hospice here in Huddersfield. Forget Me Not supports the whole family, recognising parents and siblings’ needs as equally important. It runs parental peer-support groups, has a specialist sibling support worker, and provides bereavement support and counselling when a child dies.

The charity also offers trailblazing services including its pioneering perinatal service, and SUDIC (sudden, unexpected death in children) service.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Kilmurray .