REGULAR Connected to our community
Lorcan Mekitarian, Chair of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA), explains why it’s vital to support its members and be a responsible industry leader.
The CHSA is run by our members, for our members. They set the agenda. It’s why our commercial priority is to support them to prosper and advance through maintaining and enhancing standards on quality, ethics and sustainability.
It’s also why one of our four strategic pillars is to be a responsible leader of the cleaning and hygiene industry. We
represent many of the UK’s manufacturers and
distributors of cleaning and hygiene products and services, and they want the industry to be respected, recognised as an ethical and major contributor to UK GDP. Giving something back to our community is a key component.
The cleaning media is full of stories of companies in the sector raising money for all sorts of different charities. Raising money through litter picks or golf days for charities from health to environmental ones, members of our industry have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds, if not millions. It’s great for attracting employees, can bring teams together and set the business apart. Most importantly, though, it’s the right thing to do.
Thanks to the generosity of our members at our Annual Charity Gala Ball, we are also able to make a significant donation to charity every year. This year we donated £10,000 to Grief Encounter, adding to the over £33,000 we have already donated since nominating them as our official charity in 2019.
Grief Encounter supports bereaved children and their families to help alleviate the pain caused by the death of someone close. One child in every UK classroom will experience the death of someone close by the time they reach 16 years old. Children suffering the death of a parent or sibling find their lives changed forever; their grief and sadness often being compounded by isolation and fear, which can have a significant impact on a child’s mental health. Studies have shown bereaved children can face long-term social and emotional difficulties if they do not receive adequate support following a bereavement.
We also want to encourage fresh young talent, giving them a helping hand while introducing them to the potential of our industry. The cleaning sector is often seen as low tech and low aspiration, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We challenge this perception by giving young people a taste of the sector through our bursary programme.
The CHSA Bursary is open to the children of our members’ employees who are starting university that year. It was refreshed into its current form in 2016. Since then, we have supported 25 young people, including the four talented recipients who started their university careers earlier this autumn. Few students have the resources to capitalise on
28 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
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all the opportunities university offers. For the children of our members’ employees, the Bursary can make the crucial difference, enabling them to take part in field trips, join clubs or simply buy the books and resources they need to successfully complete the course. The four successful 2024 applicants are each receiving £6,000 over the course of their time at university.
We are proud of these initiatives. They receive the full and enthusiastic support of our Governing Council. Our Bursary and support for Grief Encounter, in very different ways, make a huge and very valuable difference to young people.
www.chsa.co.uk
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