Residents get an extra helping hand during Property Maintenance Week

Nov 27, 2013

Emanuel Whittaker has been using National Property Maintenance Week as the perfect excuse to carry out numerous small jobs for residents and provide general property advice.

Contracts Director John Gallagher said: “We are already renowned for our customer service and we thought we would really push the boat out during Property Maintenance Week.  Our on site teams have responded very generously to our appeal to help out residents in need.”

The company’s teams team carried out dozens of jobs such as re-hanging an internal door for a Rochdale Boroughwide Housing resident,  putting up new window blinds for a City West Housing resident, re-setting a Salix Homes resident’s boiler,  hanging winter flower baskets for a Contour Homes resident and a challenge for a Your Housing Group tenant which involved a whole team across several hours.

John said:  “Mrs Hannah Igo is 84 and has arthritis which greatly affects her mobility. Her husband who looked after the garden died 10 years ago however, the decking and gazebo which he had built  had fallen into such a state of disrepair it had become too dangerous to walk on.

“Mrs Igo casually mentioned to the team how she avoided going into the garden because of the slippery decking and so a team completely removed the decking and gazebo frame to provide her with safe access to the garden again.

“Needless to say Mrs Igo was absolutely thrilled with our team’s good deed and was really moved by the fact we had taken the time to do it.”

In addition to the practical jobs, Emanuel Whittaker staff also provided advice on common winter weather problems such as condensation and locating the stoptap in case of frozen pipes.

John adds: “It was good to help out so many residents and we also reminded them about property maintenance issues that were their own, rather than their landlord’s responsibility. The feedback we received from residents were great and everyone involved feels a great sense of satisfaction.”

Emanuel Whittaker has top apprentices – it’s official!

Oct 24, 2013

 

Tam Graham starts the event, winning the Mentor Award	Luke Carroll won Best in Trade(multi skilled and joinery)
Matthew Casey won Best in Trade (wet trade)	Rachel Howarth was voted for by her colleagues to win the Apprentices’ Apprentice Award

 

Emanuel Whittaker staff scooped four awards at an inaugural apprenticeship award ceremony recently.

The event hosted by Salford based Salix Homes is designed to celebrate and recognise young people who are working through an apprenticeship programme and Lee Bradbury, Health, Safety & Environment Manager said he was pleased the company have taken so many of the gongs.

“We firmly believe in giving young people the chance to train for a long term career,” he said.  “The Emanuel Whittaker apprenticeship scheme is run in close partnership with our clients and local colleges and we are proud to deliver a programme of modern apprenticeships, work opportunities and work experience.  Clearly we must be doing something right to win so many accolades.”

23 year old Rachel Howarth from Salford was voted for by her apprentice colleagues to win the Apprentices’ Apprentice Award.  She is an external wall insulation apprentice but initially trained in childcare. She swopped life in a predominantly female dominated environment for one with the boys.  She said:  “I absolutely love it and I am seen as one of the lads on site and that is how I like it.

Former Site Manager Tam Graham won the Apprentice Mentor Award.  Tam has now moved on to run his own business, but was delighted to be nominated by so many apprentices for the award.

25 year old Luke Carroll won Best in Trade (multi skilled and joinery) and 22 year old Matthew Casey won Best in Trade (wet trade).

Lee adds:  “We believe we have trained around 700 apprentices in our 175 year history.  The   positive   impact   of apprenticeships on individuals, businesses and the economy should not be under-estimated.

“In this time of record high youth unemployment, apprentices offer a skills-based learning programme which helps young people earn a living and provides employers with access to a pool of talented new recruits.

“We are very proud of our award winning young people and we are also grateful to Salix Homes for developing this award scheme which recognises their hard work and determination.”

Emanuel Whittaker staff raise £1,000 a month, every month for a year

Aug 29, 2013

After a year of exhausting and imaginative fund-raising to celebrate its 175^th anniversary, staff at Emanuel Whittaker have announced the total money raised in the period was £12,009.17.  That equates to a thousand pounds a month, every month for a year!

Clive Newton, Managing Director said:  “With so many activities going on it has taken a while to get all the money in, but we are thrilled with the final count.  Our staff, clients, sub-contractors and friends and family have been incredibly generous and it’s been genuinely lovely to meet some of the people at The Christie Charity and Dr Kershaw’s hospice who will benefit from the money.”

To raise the cash Emanuel Whittaker staff were split into teams who between them all developed a vast array of fundraising initiatives including a car wash, making and selling handmade garden furniture and kitchen equipment, a sponsored weight loss, a sponsored silence, various sponsored walks, a bungee jump and a meditation evening as well as various sporting events including; football, cricket and golf.

The monies are to be divided between the two charities and the company has asked that The Christie funds are directed to the Young Oncology and Haematology and Transplant Unit.

“Emanuel Whittaker has invested a lot of effort into developing young people through our apprenticeship programme and we work with local schools and colleges to encourage young people into construction,” explains Clive Newton. “As a result of this relationship with young people we wanted to do something that specifically benefits them.”

The Christie currently has two specialist services, in need of refurbishment, however it has identified that it can deliver even greater results if the services are integrated, especially as approximately 50% of young cancer patients will have a haematological cancer (blood cancer). The Christie charity is therefore hoping to raise just over £10 million to build a new integrated treatment centre to replace the existing Young Oncology Unit (YOU) and Haematology and Transplant Unit (HTU).

Natalie Pike, Corporate Development Manager at The Christie Charity said:  ‘Everyone at The Christie is so grateful for the amazing support of Emanuel Whittaker, their staff and customers. The wonderful donation will be going towards our new Young Oncology Unit, which will help enable us to build a new world-class treatment centre for teenage cancer patents. The unit should be complete early next year and we will be inviting everyone who contributed to the opening ceremony.”

Over fifty per cent of the funds will be given to Oldham’s hospice. Dr Kershaw’s needs nearly £5,000 every day to be able to continue to operate its specialist services and maintain the outstanding standard of care.  Fundraiser Lisa Pearson said:  “We were so thrilled and proud be chosen as one of the nominated charities for Emanuel Whittaker’s anniversary fundraising year. As a local charity it is important for us to build and maintain links within our local community and Emanuel Whittaker’s approach to fundraising meant that we had plenty of opportunities to work with staff and suppliers.

“Dr Kershaw’s Hospice is extremely grateful for the company’s support, it costs over £1.75 million to run the hospice each year and the lion’s share of that funding comes from local companies, community groups and businesses. Without the support of people within our community we could not provide the vital services we do.”

Emanuel Whittaker’s 175^th anniversary celebrations have now concluded, however, many staff have enjoyed their fund-raising activities so much they intend to continue helping their favourite charities.

Director John Gallagher said:  “Where possible the company will continue to support staff in their efforts to raise money for good causes through either financial or practical support.

“We had no idea how much we could raise in 12 months and everyone involved has been staggered by the generosity of all our supporters.  We want to pass on our congratulations and thanks to all those involved.”

Tottington duo help mend broken hearts

Aug 19, 2013

With support from his partner, Lead  Resident Liaison Officer at Emanuel Whittaker,  Adam Berry, the two Tottington men set about raising money to support The British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) ” Mending Broken Hearts Appeal” which is raising awareness of heart failure and taking steps to find a cure through stem cell research.

Recently, with the help and support of friends and Adam’s colleagues at Emanuel Whittaker including Site Managers Mark Healey and Ian MCcune and Resident Liaison Officer Louise Langford a group of 16 took part in The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.  This gruelling walk takes in the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, usually in this order, and the challenge is to complete is under 12 hours!

Emanuel Whittaker sponsored the walk by providing £200 which was used to buy t-shirts and supplies to keep the team going and The Events Service helped organise the day. The team were also supported by R A Sidebottom Roofing Ltd, who donated £100.

Adam said:  “Most of our team were raising cash for BHF but one was raising cash for Verity, a charity for women suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and another for the MS Trust.  It was very hard going, blisters were a common theme but there was also lots of fun and games.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for the walk; you go through a whole range of emotions, from feeling like you can’t take another step to laughing out loud when somebody falls in a boggy patch.”

The team all agree they could not have completed the walk without the help of a support team which included Shaun and which gave the walkers lots of support and encouragement. All the walkers completed the challenge within the 12 hour time frame and in collaboration with other fundraisers for the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, have raised £1271.05

Rukhsana Nabi from Emanuel Whittaker said:  “We are very proud of the staff that completed this walk.  The company is always happy to support its employees where possible and the team have raised a fantastic amount of money.”

You can still donate to the charity by clicking on this link http://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Berry1

A very sad and fond farewell to Peter

Jul 22, 2013

It was another sad day for Emanuel Whittaker as another long standing member of staff retired.

Site Manager, Peter Dransfield finally decided to hang up his hard hat and boots and retire after a remarkable 17 years with the company.

Peter celebrated his 65th birthday in April, but has decided to spend some more time with his family rather than carry on working.

Peter was a very popular member of staff and we’ll all miss him around the office and on site. But we know our clients and customers will miss him too.

“Peter always managed to win residents round with his warm personality and friendly approach” explained Managing Director, Clive Newton. “Peter epitomised the ‘Whittaker’s Way’. Always going the extra mile for our customers in everything he did. That’s why our clients always asked for him on their projects, and customers consistently gave him 100% in his customer satisfaction scores”.

We all wish Peter a very long, happy and healthy retirement.