Housebuilder shows support for East Renfrewshire children’s charity

Mactaggart & Mickel director Joanne Casey

A charity that provides disadvantaged children with school uniforms has been boosted by a £1,000 donation from Mactaggart & Mickel.

Back to School Bank East Renfrewshire, which provides brand new clothing and supplies, received the donation from the housebuilder’s Building Communities Fund.

It comes at a time when the charity is said to be dealing with more requests than ever for new uniforms for primary and secondary school children, which follow referrals from their schools, local authorities and other support agencies. Essential items including blazers, shoes, bags, sports kit, and stationery are supplied by the charity, which is based in Thornliebank, Glasgow.

Back to School Bank East Renfrewshire founder Sandra Douglas said, “We’re hugely grateful for this show of support from Mactaggart & Mickel which demonstrates it is a company with its heart in the right place. We exist solely to support families living in situations of poverty and hardship and year on year, we face increasing demand for our help. Mactaggart & Mickel’s show of support means we can rise to these challenges.

“These are worrying times for people who are bracing themselves to cope with cuts to Universal Credit but knowing their children are properly equipped for school, thanks to our supporters like Mactaggart & Mickel, helps take a weight off their shoulders. East Renfrewshire is rightly regarded as a lovely, leafy area but there are pockets of severe deprivation with lots of families struggling to deal with growing demands on their household budgets. We do all we can to help mitigate that.”

Mactaggart & Mickel has handed out more than £30,000 through the company’s Building Communities Fund. Joanne Casey, director at Mactaggart & Mickel, said, “Mactaggart & Mickel have a proud history of supporting people in the communities where we are building new homes, which reflects the company’s family ethos. We have always cared deeply about the people in the communities where we strive to make a positive difference, especially where people are hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Mactaggart & Mickel are deeply committed to helping organisations like Back to School Bank East Renfrewshire which benefit people’s lives through our Building Communities Fund. We know their work is more valuable than ever due to Covid-19.”