There were some incredible and heart-warming stories featured in this year’s Building Better Communities. More than 2,400 entries were submitted for our 2018 event, all made up of worthy causes from across the UK. This year, we gave 37 lucky winners shares of £250,000 worth of building materials to help support their community projects.
Once again, renowned celebrity architect, George Clarke, was on hand at the awards ceremony in Coventry to host the event and reveal the prize amounts to the lucky winners.
Among the prize-winners was Stephen Keenan from Halifax who was named a Jewson Trade Hero and awarded a massive £50,000 of the prize fund. Stephen, the co-founder and director of Happy Days Building and Roofing Company, will use the funds to support his work in getting homeless people and those suffering from addiction involved in community projects.
Joining Stephen as winners of the Trade Hero awards were David Lloyd, John Simkins, Steve Dixon and Aaron Pearson who were all crowned runners-up and won £10,000 each. Flooring contractor, David, will use his winnings to support a charity he is involved with, Team Reece. Team Reece is aiming to buy and renovate a home in the UK, so terminally ill children that can’t travel can still have a holiday with their families.
Meanwhile John Simkins, a builder from Hampshire, will use his prize to renovate a house for a close friend to suit the needs of her disabled son. He plans to install thicker carpets, black out blinds, sensory lighting, and other amenities in the home that will make the young man’s life a little easier.
Mansfield site engineering surveyor, Steve Dixon, is a husband and dad to four children. Steve is currently in hospital undergoing rehab following a series of health complications. Using the £10,000 from Building Better Communities, Steve’s family will upgrade his home to suit his needs, widening the doors and installing a new wet room.
The final 2018 Trade Hero is Aaron Pearson, a plasterer from Denmead, who will use his £10,000 in materials to help a local autism charity.
At the same time, London-based children’s hospice, Noah’s Ark, won £45,000 worth of materials from the builders’ merchant. Using their winnings, Noah’s Ark will add a horticultural and sensory garden to its children’s premises. This will be the only service of its kind available to seriously ill children in Barnet, Enfield, Islington, Camden, Haringey and Hertsmere, and will offer a range of outdoor therapeutic treatments to help them make the most of the space.
31 other community projects made up of local sports teams, dog rescue centres, support groups and children’s charities also picked up prizes to help them on their way to making their projects a reality.
Well done to everyone involved in this year’s Building Better Communities and thank you to all our sponsors for making it such a fantastic and worthwhile event. You can view photos of the event on our Facebook page and details of all of the prize winners, here.
