- Donates a dozen radiators to Warriors of Warmth Charitable initiative
Leading radiator manufacturer Stelrad Radiators has continued to build on its impressive track record of supporting worthy causes through its donation of more than a dozen Compact radiators to a major project in Windsor. The Warriors of Warmth group of installers led by Nottinghamshire based installer Jonathan Hallam recently set about completing their largest charity project to date transforming a derelict hall into a centre for the homeless and a food bank to help the local community.
Whilst Windsor has the appearance on the outside of being a very wealthy place and is the base for the Royal family with the impressive Windsor castle dominating the town, there is poverty, homelessness and need on the King’s doorstep and when the Windsor Christian Action Charity began looking for help to build their shelter in the town, Warriors of Warmth heard about the project and volunteered their expertise to renovate and install the heating system that the shelter needed. The Windsor based charity has now secured a 25-year lease on the building which was previously the Alma Road social club, which will enable all of its the projects to be under one roof and continue to support the homeless and vulnerable in the area.
The new centre when finished will offer a day centre for breakfast and lunch, healthcare facilities including access to visiting GPs and nurses, a chiropodist, a hairdresser, professional advisors for mental health, addictions, life re-building advice from the probation services, as well as housing and tenancy advice, on-line skills, and jobs advice.
The heating system in the building was non-existent and the previous system didn’t meet regulations and had to be stripped out and the charity knew it had to replace it for it to serve the purpose it was intended – providing adequate heating and hot water for the new centre. As well as keeping its guests warm it needed to be able to provide large quantities of hot water for showers and catering. Jonathan set about asking manufacturers for all the components required to provide a quality heating system for the renovated building.
“We were asked by Warriors of Warmth if we could support their activities on this project,” said Marketing Communications Manager at Stelrad, Sarah Baker. “We have helped out with a couple of smaller projects for them in the past and this seemed like a really worthwhile one to be involved with, so we were pleased to be able to offer the Compacts to Jonathan and his team.”
Jonathan has built up an impressive team of installers from around the country, willing to give their time for free and in addition, he brings a minibus full of plumbing and heating apprentices from his local college with him, for the experience. They also get some free tools and a certificate to show they are committed to the cause: “The big thing for these projects is equipment donation – we can find installers willing to do their bit – we put out pleas for support via social media and usually get a really good response – but we need the equipment to install and that is where the kindness and generosity of people like the team at Stelrad is vital to allow us to do this work,” he says.
Amongst the team of installers helping Jonathan out on this install was winner of the last Installer of the Year Award – John Cruickshank. John said: “I was delighted to have been recognised as the Best Heating Installer 2022. It was such an honour and has been a great boost for my business in South London. When I saw Jonathan was putting together a team for this project I had to be a part of it. I know the people from Stelrad well as they were one of the sponsors of the Heating Installer Awards, and I was not surprised to hear that they were contributing to the success of the project. It all fits in with the kindness of people in this great industry in which we work.”
You can follow the activities of the Warriors of Warmth on Twitter @WarmthWarriors, Instagram – @warriorsofwarmth and on Facebook and you can send DMs on these platforms to Jonathan to discuss how you can contribute to future projects. To find out more about Stelrad Compact radiators and the wide range of radiators available head for www.stelrad.com.
