Blog

Gartec Wheels at Work Day

A HUGE SUCCESS

Luke Delahunty, who is an Ambassador for Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research, and was a GB team member at the Invictus Games, dropped in to the Gartec office to provide some welcome encouragement. His visit must have been motivational as Wheels at Work Day at Gartec was a huge success, not just in terms of raising awareness but cash too. The team smashed through their fundraising target of £1,000, finishing with a very impressive total of £1,143.60. We’re very pleased to have taken part in Wheels at Work Day and to support organisations such as Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research Charity doing such crucial work. The insights we’ve gained are important and we hope the money we raised will make a difference too.

 

WHY WHEELS AT WORK DAY?

Working in an industry like lift technology is a great eye opener for anyone who has never spent any time in a wheelchair. Accessibility has become one of the biggest issues for our modern age, for retailers, for customers and for people at home. Many of us take for granted how easy we find it to take the stairs or tackle steps up or down but at Gartec we have seen first hand the difficulties that this can present. This is why we recently held a Wheels At Work Day, to recognise the challenges that so many people face and also to raise money for a great cause.

 

A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

The idea behind Gartec’s Wheels at Work Day was to have a normal day in the office – but in wheelchairs (supplied for free by mobility company Gerald Simonds). The event at Gartec is part of a national campaign to help raise funds for Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research Charity. Schools and businesses across the country have been setting up Wheels at Work days to help raise much needed funds, as well as help people to gain a little insight into the lives of the 40,000 people living with spinal cord injury in the UK. We couldn’t think of a better cause to get involved in, especially given the central nature of accessibility issues to our customers.

 

CUSTOMER FOCUSED AT ALL TIMES

The team was fully behind the initiative, saying:

“we feel this will help us have more empathy to our customers who are wheelchair users and will help us appreciate the importance of a fully functioning lift.”

It’s this kind of insight and desire to understand our customers that we hope makes Gartec such a proactive and client-focused business.

Build Up to the Event

Update – 1st August

Tomorrow is our Wheels at Work Day (Tuesday 2nd August) and our Accounts Team also ready to get involved: “In a world where money is tight for everyone it’s so difficult for charities to raise the money they so desperately need. Its important for us all to give all we can to help.” Please give generously to this great cause!

http://www.justgiving.com/Gartec

Update – 29th July

As we are getting ever closer to our Wheels at Work Day (Tuesday 2nd August) Our installations team are gearing up: “I have worked for the lift industry for over 12 years however seeing things more from the clients perspective gives me a greater empathy especially when dealing with our home lift clients” We welcome any and all contributions to this great cause.

Update – 28th July

Nearly there for our Wheels at Work Day (Tuesday 2nd August). Our Service team really looking forward to doing their bit “We feel this will help us have more empathy to our customers who are wheelchair users and will help us appreciate the importance of a fully functioning lift”. If you have not yet sponsored us please see our Just Giving page page below, thank you.

Update – 27th July

As we near our Wheels at Work Day (Tuesday 2nd August), Our Internal Sales Team are at the ready! They said “As well as giving a greater understanding of the difficulties faced by our customers, it gives us at Gartec the opportunity to raise funds for this worthwhile cause”.

Please give generously to our Just Giving page, and help raise money for the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research Charity.

Update – 26th July

The final countdown for our Wheels at Work Day (on Tuesday 2nd August) has begun! Amanda Saint, our Office Manager said “I am hoping to gain a better understanding of improvements we can make in our offices to assist both disabled employees and customers visiting our showroom”

We have a Just giving page set up – please give generously to this very worthwhile cause!

http://www.justgiving.com/Gartec

Update – 18th July

We have just two weeks to go before our Wheels at Work day, (on Tuesday 2nd August). We are busy getting ready, with 10 volunteers preparing for their day in a wheelchair.

Have you given yet? Please see our Just Giving page below, and thank you for your generous contributions!

Update – 13th July

With three weeks to go we are delighted to confirm that we have received ÂŁ215 in donations towards our ÂŁ1,000 target!

We would like to thank Cressco Corporate clothing, Graham Knight and Robert Gerrard and Co for their contributions, which are greatly appreciated!

Update – 11th July

There’s just three weeks to go before our Wheels at Work day (Tuesday 2nd August). Our staff will be spending a working day in a wheelchair to help raise funds as well as build awareness for the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research Charity.

Please see our Just Giving Page – Please give generously to this great cause!

We are delighted to announce that on Tuesday 2nd August we at Gartec will be taking part in a Wheels at Work Day to raise money for the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research Charity. This charity has a great synergy with what we at Gartec deliver, as well as being a local charity which has a national reach. The Spinal Research Charity receives no funding from the NHS and relies solely on charitable donations to deliver this very needed and worthwhile research, allowing people with Spinal Injuries to lead a more independent life. The Wheels at Work day will give us a great insight and better understanding of how disability affects some of our customers.

We have set up a Just Giving Page – all contributions are welcomed.

http://www.justgiving.com/Gartec

Thank you from the team at Gartec!