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Charity & CSR, News

Trio of businesses boost Purple Heart Wishes

A charity which enables adults with a terminal illness to fulfil special wishes with their family and friends is in line for a cash boost from proptech business Symple and two sister companies.

Symple has chosen Purple Heart Wishes as its charity of the year for 2022.

Merco Facilities Services, a commercial cleaning business, and FCS Management Services, a business rates management company, have followed suit to provide a triple boost to the charity. The businesses are all part of Kingsbury Holdings and are headquartered in Swinton, Greater Manchester.

Purple Heart Wishes was founded by Symple’s chief operating officer Susan Roughton in 2016 following the passing of her daughter Lyndsey from a brain tumour at the age of 29.

Lyndsey was diagnosed in 2009 after suffering from headaches and blurred vision. Initially, her treatment was successful, but the tumour recurred more aggressively and was diagnosed as incurable in 2012. She passed away in 2014 at St Ann’s Hospice, Greater Manchester.

During her illness, Lyndsey’s family and friends raised over £25,000 for her to fulfil a lifelong dream to visit Thailand and Vietnam. She went for three weeks with a friend who was training to become a doctor.

Susan wanted Lyndsey’s final months to be filled with laughter, love and excitement with her family and friends.

“We tried to arrange for her to do as much as possible to ensure she had the best days of her short life,” said Susan, who lives in Denton, Greater Manchester.

“Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organisations, she did a host of amazing things, including horse riding, going to Premier League football matches, riding on a motorbike and going to the Creamfields music festival where her older sister Leigh was a DJ.

“After she passed away, I felt I wanted to help grant wishes to other adults with terminal illnesses, just as we had done for Lyndsey.

“That led to setting up Purple Heart Wishes, catering for people aged 18 to 55 and even older. There are similar organisations for children, but not many like this for adults.

“Currently we are receiving 12 requests for wishes a month, which is more than we’ve ever had. We receive wishes from the patients themselves, their friends, hospices, Macmillan Cancer Support, The Brain Tumour Charity and elsewhere.

“We are fortunate to receive support from people doing sponsored activities such as parachute jumps, and from Manchester City FC, where we work in the kiosks at matches and concerts and get a percentage of the sales through the catering company Fabulous Fan Fayre.

“However, with the number of requests for wishes now at such a high level, we need to raise more money, and I’m delighted that Symple, Merco and FCS have chosen us as their charity of the year.

“Their support will make a huge difference to people who are very poorly and want to fulfil dreams and create memories for their families and friends by spending precious quality time with them or doing something special. Some of the people who request a wish simply cannot afford to do these things themselves.

“They include hotel stays and breaks at holiday parks with their families, sightseeing in London, having a photo shoot or even providing a pendant gift from a terminally ill husband to his wife. They are all tremendously appreciated. They create lasting memories, and give people the strength to continue fighting.”

Susan said Purple Heart Wishes is also seeking ambassadors and fundraisers as well as sponsors for wishes and for donors of wishes themselves.

“We want to do as much as we can to help families in such tragic situations. It’s great to be able to do this in Lyndsey’s memory, and to bring some joy into people’s lives at a very difficult time. The feedback we receive is always fantastic,” she said.

The charity’s logo is a heart which Lyndsey drew in a birthday card to Susan which was found after she passed away. The Purple Heart medal is awarded to service people in the US who have been injured in conflict, as a way of celebrating their heroism.

“Lyndsey was a hero to us, so it seemed a fitting name for the charity,” said her mum.

Kingsbury founder and chief executive Simon Dresdner said: “We are deeply moved by the story of how Purple Heart Wishes came to be.

“Susan has created something really special in memory of Lyndsey, enabling her legacy to live on. It is our great honour and privilege to be able to support the wonderful work the charity does, knowing what a difference it makes to people in need. I hope we can be a supporting partner of Purple Heart Wishes for many years to come.”

 

Climate, News

Kunal Sawhney: UK Shows Growth in Sales of EVs, But Crucial Hurdles Still Fogging the Road Ahead

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Group

As the economy is bouncing back from the pandemic lows, the United Kingdom has moved ahead in the electric vehicles sphere after it surpassed France to become Europe’s second-largest electric vehicle market for the first time. The domestic market of electric and hybrid car sales has seen a drastic change in recent years on the back of increased demand, greater availability of vehicles, government support, and development of the charging point infrastructure in the UK. The sales had hit a record high in March as demand for electric vehicles surged despite the pandemic.

In a report, automotive analyst Matthias Schmidt highlighted that about 31,800 battery EVs were sold in the UK between January and March this year as compared to 30,500 in France. Germany tops the list as it sold 64,700 cars in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), sales of battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids in the UK was about 13.9% of the total market in 2020 as compared to 7.3% in 2019, as many customers are switching to cars with lower carbon emissions. Even the traditional car manufactures are facing stiff guidelines from respective governments and have been asked to bring down the average carbon dioxide emission in their products.

According to the data available with the UK car industry lobby group, more than 100 plug-in car models are available in the UK. Another 35 to 40 models will be available in FY2021, which is more than the proposed petrol or diesel new models in the same time period.

Explaining the situation, Schmidt said the UK would dominate the battery electric vehicle market in Europe as the UK government is offering generous incentives. But he said that some crucial hurdles, such as inadequate charging points and pricing of the vehicles, cannot be ignored. The manufacturers now have to increase their sales in the UK as the year is very crucial with the new emission limits post Brexit, he added.

EV charging points

Though UK consumers are opting for EVs, drivers say the charging points are not up to the mark and adequate in numbers. A poll of British drivers found that 76 per cent of drivers and consumers reported the charging infrastructure is inadequate as compared to other European countries.

But even then, experts opine that the situation is much better than before and will improve in the near future. Between the end of 2016 and 2020, the number of public charging points has gone up by 220 per cent.

According to a joint analysis by the SMMT and Frost and Sullivan, for a zero-emission fleet, the UK will require at least 1.7-1.8 million on-street charging points and another 1.1 million by 2035, which means 500 new points every day.

Pricing still a barrier 

A comprehensive survey and many reports in this regard have found that electric vehicles are way too expensive, and therefore, consumers are not so keen to buy them. Though the UK government is offering subsidies, battery electric cars are still more expensive than the petrol or diesel counterparts.

The SMMT has asked the UK government to extend the subsidies offered to buyers. The subsidies were withdrawn in 2019, which prompted a furious reaction from the industry.

Talking about the hurdles, SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes explained that until the government introduces subsidies to make the vehicles affordable, the UK will be moving in the slow lane, overlooking the industry investment and commitments by carmakers.

Environment groups feel that the best way to inspire consumers to opt for electric vehicles is by bringing bans on internal combustion engines. The UK government has committed to ban carbon dioxide-emitting engines by 2040 but might bring in the changes by 2035 or sooner by 2032.