As part of our work with Royal Borough of Greenwich, we are committed to helping local groups and charities working to improve the lives of people in the borough wherever possible.
In December 2021, we were approached by the charity Emmaus, who do fantastic work providing support, meaningful work experience and accommodation for those experiencing homelessness. Following their initial contact, our Social Value Manager, Ayesha Wright, visited the charity’s Greenwich centre in February to find out more about how it has helped local people.
Emmaus Greenwich provides 35 homeless people with a safe place to live and work for as long as they need – in fact, some residents have stayed for over 10 years! There is a shop attached to the centre, where all items donated to the charity are re-sold to the local community at a low price.
The site was acquired by Emmaus some years ago and has been repurposed from its previous life as a children’s home. It has recently undergone some much-needed refurbishment work, however, improvements to the domestic kitchen were not included.
This is where the Elkins team saw an opportunity to help. The kitchen is a vital hub of the centre, used regularly by the residents, particularly in the evenings, as a place to prepare nutritious meals and socialise. As it was in a state of disrepair, we decided the best course of action would be to install a brand-new kitchen.
The project was overseen by our Assistant Site Manager Kalvin Morath-Gibbs. Elkins provided the electrical and plumbing services and worked with a number of contractors, who also kindly supplied their services for free – Rollalong (kitchen supply), Alexander James Contracts (kitchen fit out), Armour Hart Group (decoration) and SME Building Services (flooring).
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