The Plumbers Charity
The Plumbers Charity strives to change lives for the better in everything we do. Our vision is to promote better plumbers, better plumbing, better health, and better lives. We do this by supporting plumbing education, training and development, and the promotion of the ‘craft of plumbing’.
Just a Drop’s project with Ta Tork Primary School in Cambodia, which The Plumbers Charity funded, is now complete. Read the final report below, and thank you for your support.
Photo credit: Just a Drop/Water for Cambodia
Trustees:
The present Trustees are Past Master Robert Burgon (Chairman), Past Master Steve Hodkinson, Assistants Charles Brooks and Janet Rivers, Past Steward Michael Cooper, and Liverymen James Dalton, Jamie Fisher, and John Mager. The Secretary to the Trustees is Clive Sofaer.
Trustees generally serve for five years, and together they bring a wide experience of the trade and the City.
Charities we support:
We are focussed on making an impactful difference for people both here in the United Kingdom, and in countries that are growing, through our support of projects that improve the provision of clean water and sanitation, and improve public health and community welfare.
In recognition of being in the City of London, we also support educational and charitable activities within, or related, to the City.
We have set a target of donating a minimum of £85,000 in 2024, and would love to hear from you, if you feel we can help you and your charity – see our contact details at the bottom of this page.
We can only continue to support the various organisations doing impactful work, with the regular help of our Liverymen and Corporate Members. See how you can support the Charity.
Here are some of the charities we are currently supporting, with the latest updated at the top:
Livery Food Initiative
Following our support of the Livery Kitchens Initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are delighted to be supporting the new Livery Food Initiative, launched by the Livery Charity Chairs Group (LCCG).
Working with the charity City Harvest, and through the support of many Livery Companies, The Plumbers Charity is helping to fund a new food-collection and redistribution van, launched on 6th March 2023, to enable City Harvest to continue their superb work across London.
NEWS: On 5th March 2024, a second food-collection and redistribution truck for the Livery Food Initiative was handed over outside Mansion House, and our Charity Trustee Michael Cooper was in attendance:
City Harvest collects high quality food, that is about to go to waste from farms, manufacturers, and retailers, and redistributes it to charities throughout London, serving people in dire need. You can see the great work this charity does by watching this two-minute video, and thanks to your support, The Plumbers Charity is able to offer ongoing support to City Harvest with a particular aim of targeting the 800,000 children living in poverty in London, amounting to nearly 40% of all children in the capital.
Aquabox
NEWS: In 2024, we are delighted to confirm a new 3-year partnership with Aquabox, who provide emergency water filters across the globe where access to clean water has been affected by natural disasters or conflict.
Through our support, Aquabox have upgraded their manufacturing workshop to double the output of their amazing water filters so they can support even more people in need, called Project Aquaboost!
In their emergency relief work, Aquabox not only provide their ground-breaking water filters, but also emergency equipment in their Gold Box such as pots and pans, tools, plates, and other essentials for those who have lost everything.
Medical Detection Dogs
NEWS: You may recall that several years ago we supported the Medical Detection Dogs charity, and we are now supporting them once again. We are sponsoring a medical detection dog called ‘Plum’. We will keep you updated on Plum’s progress in training, as we go through 2024, and you can see some of the excellent work they do on their website.
We continue our support of the excellent Medical Detection Dogs charity through our sponsorship of medical detection dog Plum. Plum is part of a team of four dogs who work in the Community Medical Detection Dogs project, to assist in the detection of urinary tract infections (UTI) in the community.
Plum has also aided Research and Development and Continuation Training, using her amazing nose in the organisation’s specially built Bio-Detection facility.
NEWS: Watch Plum in action at Crufts at a live demo by Medical Detection Dogs!
NEWS: On 20th February 2024, the Master attended a reception featuring Plum at Clarence House, by Her Majesty The Queen, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the charity Medical Detection Dogs.
Just a Drop
In 2023, we started working with Just a Drop, an international safe water and sanitation charity.
NEWS: In 2024, our partnership continues, and in the first half of 2024 we are funding a new project in Ta Tork and Trapeang Svey – two villages in Cambodia. We are funding a unique project to install 45 bio-sand filters to give the villages clean and safe water for the first time.
Our completed project in the school in Ta Tork Village was completed last year, and you can see the transformation in the pictures below, where 164 children and 8 teachers have toilets and hand-washing stations for the first time in 7 years.
The project also teaches the students hygiene and keeping the facilities working and clean, so is really sustainable:
Read Just a Drop’s Final Report on this excellent project.
This really is a great example of helping to create better health and better lives for people in dire need.
Village by Village
We have been supporting Village by Village, for several years, with the work they do providing clean water and sanitation for villages across Ghana, and also essential training on the maintenance of the facilities and basic hygiene training.
Our support has:
· Enabled them to demonstrate to thousands of children how to correctly wash their hands with soap and running water after going to the toilet, and before cooking, and thereby very cost effectively reducing potential illness and saving lives.
· Allowed children from remote rural villages to dream bigger by giving them more time to access education because they are spending less time collecting water for their families.
· Given children from remote rural villages access to primary health care.
Your regular donations make a transformational impact on the lives of these children and their communities, giving them hope for a brighter future. Together, we are making a difference in the world, one village at a time.
See the photos on Insta of the transformation work Village by Village do on our behalf.
Dolma Foundation
Our latest project is working in partnership with Dolma Foundation in Nepal. Through Balaju School of Engineering and Technology, we are sponsoring a unique Peak Plumbers Training Programme to give plumbing skills to a great group of students located at the remote Highland Secondary Boarding School in Langtang National Park, Dhunche, Nepal:
NEWS: follow the Programme on our joint Facebook page, and get up-to-the-minute updates.
Providence Row
We are continuing to support Providence Row, who have adapted their services primarily to serve the immediate needs of rough sleepers, whilst maintaining support for clients vulnerable to homelessness. Their frontline staff are placing clients who are rough sleeping in supported housing all over East London & providing them with specialist ongoing support to ensure their health, safety and well-being are addressed during this time.
NEWS: read Providence Row’s annual Progress Report specifically produced for our Charity, detailing the excellent work they have delivered in 2022-2023 to help those in most need.
WaterAid
For four years, we have been supporting WaterAid with one of their priority projects, The Foundations for the Future in the Dolakha region of Nepal, a district hugely affected by climate change, and one of the least developed, in a country which is home to some of the most extreme landscapes on earth, making it difficult to reach people with clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene.
This project has now ended, and we are thrilled to report that through our support, along with other donors, 17 new water supply schemes have been provided giving 8,231 people clean water for the first time, ever; 2,333 people have been reached through their good hygiene programme; and 3 schools now have new toilet blocks.
Read WaterAid’s final report for the Plumbers’ Company on The Foundations for the Future project.
No Going Back
We are delighted to be supporting the No Going Back Livery Initiative. No Going Back is an innovative programme of training, support, employment, and housing, funded and driven by Livery Companies with job opportunities via our members. It is designed to get people into employment, upon release from prison, and includes accommodation for those leaving prison who might not otherwise be able to take up their jobs.
Additionally, the programme is now actively engaging prisons from all around the country who are releasing into London so we can reach and help more people. Their approach is to offer people leaving prison a bespoke package of support with training, upskilling, employability and work readiness all part of the offer to help ensure the passage into employment is as seamless as possible for both the individuals and the employers.
Furthermore, the programme has evolved as it has progressed and it now includes Kangaroo, a holistic assessment tool in partnership with City & Guilds, which offers additional support modules to prepare candidates for taking the leap onto the programme. Ultimately, No Going Back aims to reduce re-offending and save some of the £18 billion it costs the taxpayer.
NEWS: Founder Fran Findlater came to talk to the Plumbers’ Company about the Initiative on 26th April 2023:
CRASH – The UK Construction Charity
CRASH help homelessness charities and hospices with vital construction projects, creating places that care for people. Some of their projects help to transform hostels, day centres, night shelters, and move-on accommodation for homeless people across the UK.
Our support is enabling CRASH to transform a homeless shelter by funding plumbing works for Emmaus Coventry and Warwickshire, helping them to deliver accommodation, support, and meaningful work opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness, social isolation, poverty, and lack of opportunities.
Rainy Day Trust
Providing support to those entering the plumbing industry, through plumbing education, training, and development, is one of our key areas of focus. We are working with Rainy Day Trust to provide support to apprentice plumbers, and give them the skills and a career that will be with them for life.
The Apprentice Project brings both immediate benefits, but also long-term impact. By completing their training, apprentices are more likely to have higher paid jobs and more secure employments throughout their careers. On completing their trade, they will be able to go onto gain further skills and access further training in their chose trade/profession.
Seven Oaks Welcomes Refugees
Our Charity aims to support plumbing education, training and development, and the promotion of ‘the craft of plumbing’ and changing lives for the better. Through your donations, we are helping to provide plumbing training to 2 Afghan refugees, Assad Babai and Khalil Hakimi, who have recently arrived in the UK, through the charity Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees.
Assad and Khalil were evacuated as part of the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan, and spent nearly 12 months living with their families in hotels, before being resettled in the Sevenoaks area. We are thrilled to be helping these men and their families, and welcoming them into the plumbing industry as they settle into their new lives in the UK. We will provide further updates on Assad and Khalil, so come back for more details, as their training progresses.
Affiliated and Supported Charities
Plumbing Related:
City Related:
Richmond Unit 284 of the Sea Cadet Corps
The Sheriffs’ and Recorder’s Fund
Guildhall School of Music and Drama – Student Grant support
Could we help your charity?
The Trustees are always looking for new charity partners to support. If you feel there is a good match with your charity and our aims of Better Plumbing, Better Health, Better Lives then please direct requests to the Trustees of The Plumbers Charity by contacting the Clerk, Adrian Mumford:
charity@plumberscompany.org.uk
The Worshipful Company of Plumbers, Carpenters’ Hall, 1 Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2N 2JJ
Charity Commission
Details of The Plumbers Charity can be found on the Charity Commission website: charity number 800043.
