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 charitable project in Sheffield. The Warriors of Warmth group of installers led by locally based installer Andy Cam and Nottinghamshire based installer Jonathan Hallam recently set about completing a charity project to transform a large shop unit and accommodation over the shop into a centre for people with special needs to make items and sell them through the shop – called Kreate.
The heating system in the building 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. Andy and Jonathan set about asking manufacturers for all the components required to provide a quality heating system for the renovated building and Stelrad was happy to contribute the radiators needed to make the newly refurbished centre warm and cosy in the colder months of the year.
“We were asked by Andy Cam at 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 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 Andy and his team.”
Warriors of Warmth have built up an impressive team of installers from around the country, willing to give their time for free and in addition, they bring a minibus full of plumbing and heating apprentices with them, for hands on work experience. They get some free tools and a certificate to show they are committed to the cause. Andy says: “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.
For this project, the apprentices mainly came from locally based West Nottinghamshire College, near Mansfield. More than a dozen apprentices turned out to help complete the project. Andy and a couple of colleagues had attended the site on the previous Friday to get the new boiler installed and get the radiators prepared ready for installation, but the rest of the install took place on the Saturday with all the pipework being completed and the remaining radiators hung on the walls and connected.
“Whilst the provision of radiators for the project is our main involvement, we support Warriors of Warmth for the wider benefits of what they do,” says Stelrad’s Sarah Baker. “We applaud the involvement of apprentices on the projects, giving them hands on opportunities to get really involved in an installation – working alongside qualified and experienced installers like Andy and Jonathan. Their daily activity at their colleges is key but nothing beats actually getting out there working in the real world with installers who have been working at the sharp end of the heating industry for many years.”
One of the apprentices on this project was Laura Cartwright – a ‘mature’ apprentice at 36 and a single mum switching careers. After several years working for the Yorkshire Bank she had returned ‘home’ to the Mansfield area and decided that even with a two year old son, she should change her career path and look to become a heating and plumbing engineer. Studying at West Nottinghamshire College she’s a few months into her training and saw the work experience on this project as an essential element of her training: “Any chance I can get to obtain work experience is key for me and I’m enjoying working alongside established professionals, learning as I go along,” she said.
Amongst other apprentices working on the project were Michael McPhilbin and William Copson – also from West Nottinghamshire College and installer Martin Train from M Train Plumbing in Hull who had joined the team for the day.
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.
