Since moving to Brentwood in 2011, Bakers has placed a huge importance on charity and the community.
This has been through financial donations, fundraising, volunteering, sponsorship and supplying printed material. Over the years Bakers has regularly made these donations to various charities and local clubs. As a well as supporting these charities, it provides Bakers’ staff with the opportunity to learn about the amazing work the charities do, and a great feeling knowing their hard work means the company can make these generous donations.
In Baker Labels’ 50th year Steve Baker has made a commitment to donate a fixed % of annual profits to charity.
Established in 1973, this year Bakers celebrates its 50th year of business. For this milestone anniversary, MD Steve Baker wanted to add more structure and commitment to Bakers already substantial charity contributions. Bakers Foundation is a new sector of the company with the sole focus of donating a fixed percentage of profit every year to various good causes.
By the end of the business year in August, £150,000 was the final amount shared amongst good causes.
For the launch of Bakers Foundation an amount of £150,000 was donated to multiple charities. This large donation is to be shared between local charities that Bakers have previously supported, as well as new charities that staff members have suggested.
Bakers had already donated to a number of charities over previous months but in August the Bakers Foundation carefully considered where larger donations could make the biggest difference to local charities.
2023 Charity Donations included
- Kids Inspire – £36,400
- SNAP – £31,460
- Brentwood Foodbank – £10,000
- Billericay Foodbank – £3,000
- Aching Arms – £13,000
- Wipe Away Those Tears – £15,000
- Brentwood Theatre Trust – £5,000
- POD Charitable Trust – £3,000
- Challenging MND – £10,000
- Brentwood a Becket Rotary – £10,000
- Miscellaneous – £14,000
Bakers 3 Peaks Challenge
Kids Inspire Corporate of the Year
Brentwood Half Marathon volunteers
FC Bakers at a charity football tournament
Team Bakers at Brentwood Half Marathon
Bakers Foodbank donations
Kids Inspire christmas wrapping
Mud Run Team Photo
Movember
Wearing Pink for Breast Cancer Now
Cycling London to Paris for Kids Inspire
Kids Inspire £25,000 Donation
Kids Inspire has been one of Baker’s chosen charities since 2011 and has now donated a total of around £100,000 to the charity.
They are a local charity based in Chelmsford. They provide support to young people across Essex who are at an educational, social and/or economic disadvantage. The charity mainly supports those recovering from trauma and/or dealing with emerging mental health issues.
Bakers has donated to the charity since 2011. Staff regularly visit their premises to volunteer for their many different schemes such as delivering Christmas presents to children or their summer lunch club. Last year Steve and Harry Baker also cycled from London to Paris (200 miles) to raise funds for the charity.
“Kids Inspire are delighted to receive this generous unrestricted donation from Baker Labels and are so grateful for their continued support. The funding will help the increasing number of children and families referred to the charity for mental health and trauma recovery support to ensure they become healthy adults who lead complete and fulfilling lives.”
SNAP Charity £25,000 Donation
SNAP is an Essex charity which provides support and advice for families with children that have special needs or disabilities. The charity’s vision is to provide a safe environment offering a wide range of support and specialist services with the aim to increase resilience and empowerment within families. SNAP has been one of Bakers’ chosen charities for a number of years. In 2022 Bakers even completed a Mud Run and the National 3 Peaks Challenge to fundraise for SNAP.
“We are extremely grateful to you for your incredible donation of £25,000. We’re completely overwhelmed by your continued generosity. This donation will help to fund our variety of services including the Helpline, advice sessions and activities for our children and young people. It has also covered the costs of hiring the ice-cream van and the helter-skelter inflatable for SIBS4FUN this year. Please pass along our sincere thanks to the everyone at Baker Labels for this astonishing donation and for their continued support.
With more than 4,000 families accessing SNAP, meeting the growing demand on our services is an ever-increasing challenge. Thanks to wonderful supporters like you that we can ensure local families who have a child or young person with an additional need get the essential help they need. Thank you again for your continued support.”
Wipe Away Those Tears £15,000 donation
Wipe Away Those Tears is another Essex based charity. Its aim is to grant a wish and ‘bring a sparkle’ into the lives of terminally ill children. Every penny raised goes directly to funding a wish for these children, no matter how big or small. MD Steve Baker has previously attended and participated in charity events in support of the charity, so he wanted to include it with the launch of Bakers Foundation.
“I honestly cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are to everyone at Baker Labels for such a kind and generous donation. This has given Wipe Away Those Tears a much-needed boost, to enable us to continue granting special wishes for children in Essex with life limiting or life threatening illnesses.”
POD Children's Charity £2,000 donation
POD is a charity that funds entertainers to visit children in hospital and perform for them every month. The first visit was in Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1977 and they have been creating smiles ever since. They provide fun, magic and laughter to children in over 150 hospitals and hospices throughout the UK.
“The Pod visits to our ward, Rainbow Centre, at Newham university hospital make such a difference to the daily routine of the children and young patients and their families. Craig’s (Skittleman) visits bring so much laughter, smiles and excitement from not just the patients but their families too, as well as the staff working here, it brightens their day.”
Challenging MND £10,000 donation
Challenging MND is a charity which provides financial support and assistance to those living with motor neurone disease, to complete any challenges or experiences. Motor neurone disease causes the deterioration of muscles over time so the charity aims to remove any financial obstacles that someone may have to creating long-lasting memories.
“We are absolutely blown away with your generosity and enthusiasm for our charity. Thank you so very much. It comes at a time where sustainable resources are so important to us as we have grown exponentially in the last 6 months… and where we were supporting 5 families per month it is now around 15.”
Aching Arms £10,000 donation
Aching Arms provides comfort to bereaved parents who have lost a baby during pregnancy, birth or soon after. They provide comfort bears to 170 hospitals and hospices so they can be given to families in their darkest moments. Parents can also request the bears directly from the charity. In 2022 Aching Arms donated 5,000 bears to parents. Along with providing bears they also offer support services and raise awareness. Aching Arms first got into contact with Bakers in 2021 to ask for help with their packaging. Since then, not only have Bakers provided address and logo labels to Aching Arms but we have also donated and sponsored programmes.
“Wow! £10,000 is a such a fantastic donation to our small, but rapidly growing charity, thank you all so very much. It has come just as the budget for our next financial year has been finalised. With costs rising and fundraising quite a challenge, this Baker Labels donation allows me and the team to breath a bit easier. It is incredibly powerful to know that businesses like yours are there to support us through these tricky times.’
Brentwood and Billericay Foodbanks £10,000 total donation
Both foodbank locations work with the most vulnerable members of our community. Unfortunately, each year more people are finding themselves unable to afford to feed their families and having to depend on foodbanks. It is vital that foodbanks have the support of their local community. Over the years Bakers has made financial and food donations regularly to Brentwood Foodbank. For this most recent donation, Bakers decided to expand the kindness to a neighbouring foodbank.
A huge thank you for your very kind donation. Your continued faithfulness to the Foodbank is amazing. Thank you seems such a small word to say for your gift. Sadly, we are still seeing more and more families in need and the stories we hear of peoples’ circumstances is heartbreaking. These past few months have shown a weekly increase in need, and this is a grave concern for us all. The amazing donations we receive help us to ensure, hopefully, that no one goes hungry.’
Brentwood Theatre Trust £5,000 donation
Brentwood Theatre is a local theatre that has regular show performances and cinema screenings. They also promote performing arts and culture events within the community. Bakers have previously worked with Brentwood Theatre in the Brentwood Half Marathon organising team. As a charity the theatre receives no public subsidy so financial donations are a great support.
“The £5000 donation will form a kind of sponsorship of Brentwood Theatre to aid running costs. Bakers recognises the value in supporting such an important and valuable community venue that provides art and culture.
Brentwood Theatre is an independent theatre and registered charity which does not receive any regular funding from outside sources. We’re very grateful to receive this funding from Bakers to support the future of the theatre and hope they also benefit through association with a unique local cultural asset.”
Bakers was delighted to make these donations and we look forward to seeing how the contribution has supported these good causes.
Through the continuing success of the business, Bakers looks forward to seeing the Foundation’s donations grow each year and supporting more charities. As well as charity donations Bakers sponsors local sports teams Brentwood Rugby Club and Great Danes Women’s Football. This year, we are also title sponsors for local charity event Brentwood Half Marathon. Visit our charity and community page for more information.
2023 has been a big year for Bakers
As the company’s 50th year it not only saw the launch of Baker Foundation but we were also were extremely proud to receive ‘Global Converter of the Year’ award at Labelexpo. This award was ‘given to a printing/converting company who has encouraged a diverse and inclusive work environment, developed a comprehensive training programme and contributed to community/charity initiatives.’ This global recognition for Bakers commitment to their staff wellbeing and community, confirms the impact we have been able to make. Not only are we proud of the change we have been able to make in our community, but we also hope to serve as an inspiration for other printers and local businesses.