Telford construction firm McPhillips puts up £18,000 for good causes
A Telford builder says half a dozen good causes in Shropshire are set to benefit from grant funding provided by the firm.
Telford construction firm McPhillips has awarded an £18,000 funding boost to organisations working in communities to address mental health challenges.
The company has launched a dedicated grant scheme with the Shropshire Community Foundation, with funding set to be awarded to six local organisations including Brightstar Boxing, Home Start Telford, Designs in Mind, 4 All Foundation, Community Resource’s Buddy Program and the Cube Amber Bee CIC School Project in Telford.
McPhillips’ managing director Paul Inions said the grants would help communities across the county promote better mental health, build community engagement and develop skills.
“We are tremendously proud of our Shropshire heritage and launched the fund to celebrate our 60th anniversary and play our part in supporting some of the incredible community work going on.
“Each one of these projects is making a huge, positive difference to the lives of those taking part and helping support some of the most vulnerable and isolated groups in our county.”
Brightstar was set up as a boxing academy in 2018. Since then its services and support have developed beyond measure, taking on education as a way to reach young people at risk of falling out of mainstream schooling.
Among many other projects, Brightstar runs a 12-week Empower programme combining boxing with mental health support in Shrewsbury.
Joe Lockley, founding director of Bright Star Boxing, said the Empower programme was due to get underway in Shrewsbury later this month and would be a first for the town.
“Shrewsbury may be seen as an affluent area but that does not mean people don’t struggle," he said.
“This is our first dedicated Empower programme for Shrewsbury but without funding through the new McPhillips Community Fund it wouldn’t have happened.
“It’s a constant challenge to get funding for localised projects such as this because all the big national funders favour areas of high deprivation over need so it’s brilliant that we have won the backing of McPhillips and the Shropshire Community Foundation – we cannot thank them enough."
McPhillips, which employs more than 240 people at its headquarters in Hortonwood in Telford, has completed more than 140 projects as principal contractor with a value of £300million in the last five years.
Sonia Roberts, Shropshire Community Foundation trustee, said: “The McPhillips Community Fund is a fantastic initiative which will help transform the lives of every single person these projects touch.
“I can think of no better example of a company delivering real, tangible social value by actively supporting the communities it works amongst.
“We are extremely proud to partner with the company on this groundbreaking scheme and delighted at the response we have had.”
