Esh Construction, in partnership with the YOR4Good fund, has donated resources to support upgrades to the operations of Overgate Hospice Donation Centre. The donation of £3,991.06 funded two new label printers, a donation tablet and eight trolley tubs. These resources have transformed the way the centre operates, making work for staff and volunteers easier and more efficient.

Overgate Hospice Donation Centre, located in Elland, has been supported through Esh Construction’s social value commitments on the Elland Access Package, on behalf of Calderdale Council and procured through YORcivil3.

The centre plays a vital part of fundraising for the specialist care the Hospice offers; involving care for people during the advanced stages of all life-limiting conditions, including cancer, heart failure, lung, kidney and neurological diseases.

Donated items to the centre are sorted by volunteers, labelled and prepared to be taken to the local Overgate Charity shops. Each week, the centre receives hundreds of of bags of pre-loved items from supporters across Calderdale, highlighting both its importance and the demand placed upon its operations.

Following an initial volunteering session at the centre, Megan Roberts, Social Value Manager, chatted with the charity to better understand the challenges affecting the centres capacity. Through this conversation, several issues were identified which created a targeted list of resources to support improvements.

The Donation Centre has a strong volunteer team, with 63 registered, and 45–50 helping out weekly. The centre also regularly hosts corporate volunteer groups, with one or two teams attending each week, many of them returning regularly.

As the main hub for processing donated goods, the centre enables stock to reach Overgate’s charity shops, helping maximise the value of donations. This is critical to the hospice funding, with retail operations contributing over £2.3 million annually towards the £5.9 million required each year to run the services.

Material and resource costs

Additional trolley tubs were required to support staff and volunteers in moving donated items more efficiently from their vehicles into the centre, as the existing tubs were in constant use.

The centre was also experiencing issues with ticket machines not printing correctly, while limited access to a single donation tablet meant that some donars were unable to add Gift Aid to their contributions.

A donation of £3,991.06 was provided from Esh Construction to fund these improvements, covering the purchase of key resources on behalf of Overgate Hospice.  A breakdown of the costs is outlined below:

• £768.00 – 8x Wheeled Storage Trucks
• £3,223.06 – Cybertill Donation Tablet and Zebra Printer

Volunteering

As part of the project, Esh Construction’s Social Value team delivered two days of volunteering at the centre. They supported staff and staff and regular volunteers in managing the daily flow of donations, including unpacking bags and arranging items on racks. This provided valuable insight into the operational challenges faced by the centre, and demonstrated the positive impact of the donated resources, with noticeable improvements in efficiency following their implementation.

Once again, this initiative showcases how YOR4Good and the generosity of YORhub contractors can have a big impact in supporting the local community.

If you wish to support Overgate Hospice, you can find more details via their website

Esh Construction website