Hollybank Trust: AccuFoundation Charity of the Year

Accu is incredibly excited and proud to have established an official partnership with Hollybank Trust as our Charity of the Year for 2024.

In line with our commitment to help and volunteer for local charities and organisations through the AccuFoundation, this initiative allows us to support the incredible work Hollybank Trust does and participate in dedicated fundraising opportunities for their valuable programs.

Who is Hollybank Trust and what do they do?

Hollybank Trust is a charity based in West and South Yorkshire that provides education & residential care for both young people and adults with profound and multiple disabilities.

With a keen focus on ability, not disability, Hollybank Trust celebrates our differences, with homes for people designed to support specific needs, plus a range of therapies and enrichment activities for children.

The impact of their 24/7 care reaches far beyond the individuals themselves, allowing families to focus more on being brothers, sisters, mums and dads and less on being carers, teachers and full-time nurses.

The charity’s mission is to make peoples’ lives better, providing the children and adults who live with them to have everything they need to live a full and happy life.

Why Accu chose to partner with Hollybank Trust

Speaking to Demi-Leigh Searle, Employee Experience Manager at Accu, on why we selected Hollybank Trust as our 2024 Charity of the Year, she said:

“We did some volunteering at Hollybank Trust’s main site in Mirfield in June last year [2023] and instantly saw an alignment in values and areas we could collaborate.”

She continued:

“The Charity of the Year initiative with Hollybank Trust is much more holistic than simply raising money. We are offering volunteering opportunities to all of our team members, enabling them to take a day’s paid leave to go help the Trust, learning about their work and finding ways to support their staff and other volunteers.”

Further to this, Accu will offer ongoing engineering support for their assisted technology department - helping the Hollybank Trust team to create much needed adaptations to common objects and appliances to enable a better quality of life for their service users.

Recently, Accu has proudly offered work experience placements to some of the older students at the Hollybank School, helping to raise their profile within the local area and give their students the opportunity to develop hands-on skills outside the classroom, experiencing a snapshot of life in the working world.

The Hollybank Trust’s CEO, Anna O'Mahony, also commented:

“This partnership with Accu is a very exciting opportunity for the Trust.  We are so grateful for the support Accu is offering in our fundraising efforts and through the volunteering taking place. Hollybank stands to learn from Accu due to their expertise in engineering which will assist us on our digital transformation journey.”

Anna O'Mahony

Chief Executive Officer at Hollybank Trust

Below are just some of the ways Accu has been supporting Hollybank Trust over the course of the year. We’ll continue to add photos, videos and quotes from Team Accu on their experiences volunteering with the Trust throughout the partnership.

Accu x Hollybank Trust - Charity of the Year Initiatives

Volunteers’ Week and Initial Engagement

As with all of our AccuFoundation volunteering opportunities, we kicked off our Hollybank Trust Charity of the Year partnership with enthusiasm. During National Volunteering Week, 3rd - 9th June 2024, a group of Accu team members participated in a special group volunteer at Hollybank Trust.

This included an introduction to the Trust and Disability Awareness session, a tour of their main site & services and an outdoor activity tidying up the Trust’s garden space at their main site in Mirfield, which also serves as a social hub during the summer months.

Getting Involved Through Fundraising and Community Engagement

Our partnership encourages Accu team members to participate in various volunteering & fundraising activities supporting Hollybank Trust. These activities include garden maintenance - to ensure the Trust’s grounds are beautiful, functional and engaging with pupils at Hollybank School, enabling students to develop and practise their social skills.

On 9th July 2024, a group from Team Accu attended the Hollybank Trust annual Celebration Day - joining care teams, staff, parents and supporters for a day filled with music, games and refreshments at the charity's main site in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.

The following week during the Euros final, where Team Accu took part in a Charity Sweepstake, £120 raised was donated to the Hollybank Trust, showcasing a great way to get together as a team to support our country’s football team (sadly losing to Spain!) whilst supporting a brilliant cause.

In August, the Accu Community - our team member led committee who arrange sports, social & community events - set up a Tuck Shop, offering breakfast supplies, noodles, snacks, chocolate and sweets, with any profit made to be donated to the Hollybank Trust.

Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration

We believe in the power of collaboration and shared learning. Throughout the partnership, Accu and Hollybank Trust will engage in open-ended discussions to exchange knowledge on internal wellbeing initiatives, uphold organisational values and explore ways to work ‘better together’, a theme which is central to Hollybank Trust’s philosophy with all of their partners.

We were thrilled to be able to invite senior leaders from the Hollybank Trust to visit Accu HQ for the presentation day of our King’s Award For Enterprise in International Trade, where we welcomed special guest Ed Anderson, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, to formally present our prestigious award.

During the visit the Hollybank Trust team, along with several local partners, friends & collaborators, were given a tour of Accu, learning about our many companywide initiatives, including ways we offer STEM opportunities in schools and the community & our Mental Health First Aid program, with all of these efforts designed to build a culture of support, teamwork, development & innovation.

Assistive Technology and Engineering Workshops

As Hollybank Trust has embraced a significant digital transformation over the past decade, including the implementation of new assistive technology for better communication with residents, Accu's expertise in engineering will complement their advancements.

Our engineering workshops will welcome Hollybank’s Assistive Technology team to Accu HQ, allowing for a productive exchange of innovative ideas and practices.

In celebration of the Trust's theme, 'technology through the decades,' Accu designed a robot to be showcased during the annual Celebration Day, adding a touch of innovation and excitement to the event that commemorated 70 years of the Trust.

Disability Awareness and Mutual Learning

Accu is committed to fostering an inclusive environment. Throughout the Charity of the Year partnership, our team members will participate in disability awareness training and spend time in Hollybank homes, gaining first-hand experience and a deeper understanding of various disabilities.

This hands-on involvement will be further enriched by activity days with young people and adults at Hollybank Trust and by providing invaluable work experience opportunities for older pupils from Hollybank School.

Developing a Long-lasting Relationship as a Force for Good

Team Accu is excited about seeing this partnership with Hollybank Trust develop and looks forward to celebrating impactful collaborations, learnings and mutual growth. Together, we aim to make a positive difference in the community and support the remarkable work Hollybank Trust continues to do.