National construction charity Band of Builders has announced the slate of projects it plans to deliver this year to help members of construction industry who are battling illness or injury.
The organisation is gearing up for at least five substantial projects – three of which require planning permission – in Suffolk, North Yorkshire, Cornwall, Surrey and South Wales.
Beneficiaries will include a trainee bricklayer who suffered a catastrophic brain aneurysm, the eight-year-old son of a general builder, who became quadriplegic after contracting meningococcal septicaemia, as well as a builders’ merchant employee who was left paralysed from the waist down after a spinal abscess.
Operations director Tony Steel said work is well underway in planning to deliver these projects, and the charity is already galvanising support from its near 50,000-strong community of volunteers and supporters.
“It’s a heart-breaking process reading all of the applications that we receive from members of the construction industry and their families – who all desperately need help,” said Steel.
“We selected a number of projects that met our criteria and put them forward to the board of trustees, who have given us the go-ahead to plan and deliver five projects this year.”
The projects include:
Building an extension for a family in Suffolk so their 20-year-old son can finally return home after more than two years spent in hospital after suffering a catastrophic brain aneurysm.
A complete conversion of the North Yorkshire family home of an eight-year-old who lost both legs at the knee and became quadriplegic after contracting meningococcal septicaemia.
Creating a downstairs bedroom and wet room at the Surrey home of a builders’ merchant employee who was left paralysed from the waist down.
Creating a downstairs wet room for a former joiner in South Wales who is now a wheelchair user after suffering a severe stroke.
Adapting the kitchen for a Cornwall bricklayer with multiple sclerosis.
The charity has already completed one project this year, which involved levelling the ground floor and widening the doorways at the Herefordshire home of Martin Wilks, a builder who was left paralysed after a fall.
As well as enlisting support from volunteers to sign up for the projects, BoB is also having conversations with its partners and sponsors to procure the materials it will need to complete each project. The charity is backed by major names in the construction industry, including Jewson, Gibbs & Dandy, CT1, Talasey and DEWALT.
www.bandofbuilders.org
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