Shower firm get its hands dirty for housing charity

A Liverpool housing charity is hoping to build on the success of a team building exercise, which saw staff from a shower manufacturing firm help with the construction of new homes.

Liverpool Habitat for Humanity is helping to build low-cost homes for families on modest incomes.

Future home owners have worked alongside volunteers – devoting 500 hours of ‘sweat equity’ in lieu of a £10,000 down-payment on their home.

A team from Cheltenham-based shower manufacturer Mira Showers and Kohler Bathrooms got their hands dirty working alongside other volunteers and future home owners at the site off Kingsley Road, in the Granby-Toxteth district of Liverpool.

Roger Cobb, communications manager for Mira Showers and Kohler Bathrooms, explained: “We encourage members of staff and our teams to put something back into the community through our ‘One Community’ programme. Our sales director Paul Hollingworth is from Liverpool and as the senior sales team were having a meeting in the city, he arranged for them to spend a day volunteering at Liverpool Habitat for Humanity painting homes and putting up fences.

“Some were a bit apprehensive before hand as their DIY skills were a bit limited. But they enjoyed the experience as it gave them an opportunity to help others and to appreciate the hard work that goes into building a home. It’s inspired Mira Showers as a company to think about on-going links with the charity, whether through further team builds or perhaps providing some bathroom fittings for the remainder of the build.”

LHFH, with the help of some 10,000 volunteers from 60 different countries, has already built nine of the 32 homes planned. Preparations are underway to build the next nine.

Rev Dr Shannon Ledbetter, chair of LHFH, said: “We’re extremely grateful to all who have supported Liverpool Habitat for Humanity this far. The staff from Mira Showers and Kohler Bathrooms showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the tasks they were set and we are keen to work with the company in the future.”

Appealing for other organisations and individuals to lend the project their support, she added: “In addition to volunteers’ time, we’re also in need of funding to help kickstart construction on the next phase as we don’t receive any income from home owners’ mortgages until the houses are built and legally completed.”

For more information about how you can help Liverpool Habitat for Humanity, visit the website: liverpoolhfh.org.uk