Wickes Supported Over 2,000 Community Groups In 2024

Home improvement retailer Wickes has made a significant impact in 2024, donating over 32,000 products to more than 2,000 charities and community organisations through its Community Programme. This initiative, launched in 2022, continues to grow as Wickes extends its mission of “Helping the nation feel house proud” to local communities.

Since the launch of the programme, demand has surged, with interest more than doubling. There has been a 119% increase in community groups seeking support by the end of 2024. This growth reflects the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which has pushed many charities and community groups to seek help for improvement projects that range from creating wellbeing gardens in schools to refreshing hospital wards and materials for fixing roofs for Scout huts.

The Wickes Community Programme is a product donation fund that has transformed over 4,000 projects since its launch providing everything from paint, and tools to building materials. Notable projects this year include:

Soak Lifestyle received over £1,500 worth of essential building materials from Wickes store in Torquay to contribute to the rebuild of Soak Lifestyle after they were struck by damage from storm Babet last year on a much-loved space in the community. Owner of Soak Lifestyle, Sean White [pictured below] said: “Receiving support from the Wickes Community Programme was the catalyst to rebuilding our community business at a time when we thought there may be no hope.”

Nurses at Stoke Mandeville Hospital [pictured below] were provided with lockable Stanley toolboxes from Wickes in Aylesbury to help store their medications used for patients needing end-of-life care. 

Jackie Stacey, Case Manager Nurse from Aylesbury Adult Community Healthcare, said: “Myself and my team here at Stoke Mandeville Hospital have been absolutely blown away by Wickes’ support in donating the 6 Stanley Toolboxes. This donation helped us replace our outdated toolboxes, which had seen better days and did not look very professional. Thank you so much Scott and Aylesbury Wickes for <!--StartFragment-->providing them so quickly.”

Houghton Scout group [main image] received essential materials from Wickes store in Durham to aid their renovation project for their new Squirrels group. Steve Gibson, Scout Leader at Houghton Scout Group said: “Thanks to donations from Wickes in Durham, the donated plasterboard allowed us to overboard our existing ceiling as the ceiling at present is in poor condition and needs to be replaced”

Hannah Randle Hockin, Community Engagement Manager at Wickes, said: “Demand for products through our Community Programme has increased as more groups discover the support we offer. We’re proud to have supported over 2,000 projects across 230 stores last year, providing items like paint, compost, and tools. Our stores have built strong relationships with local charities, making a real impact in communities. The Wickes Community Programme is open to all groups seeking help with improvement projects.”

Source : Wickes

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