Bidvest Noonan

A leading provider of facilities services and solutions

Social Value

How we are supporting vulnerable children

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At Bidvest Noonan, we encourage and support our colleagues to get behind social causes they
are passionate about. Over the last months, colleagues from around our business raised
money for Barnardo’s in Ireland. Barnardos support vulnerable children who are affected
by adverse childhood experiences across Ireland. Their mission is to help transform children’s lives through a range of services to help support parents and challenge society
where it fails our children.
John King, our Environmental, Social, and Governance Director, and Kenneth Kehoe,
Director of Operations for Industrial and Specialist Services presented a cheque to the
value of €10,000 to the charity.


John King and colleagues from our Industrial Cleaning team also volunteered their time to support the charity. They worked on the refurbishment of a Barnardos facility that supports local children in Waterford. We believe their work will help make the project even more
welcoming.

Introducing Sunrise, our CSR programme

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In our business, we have always strived to be an ethical and sustainable company. This means doing our best to minimise our impact on the environment while maximising the good we do in the societies where we operate.

We want to be bolder and more innovative and continue leading the way in our CSR initiatives. That is why our CSR community has launched Sunrise. Sunrise will focus on four key areas where everyone can contribute to make an impact: Workplace, Environment, Community, and Marketplace.

Watch this short video to learn more:

Spearheaded by John King, Environment, Social and Governance Director, the committee is made up of a variety of Bidvest Noonan colleagues across each of our business units, who are passionate about corporate social responsibility. Their varying ideas, insights and experiences will help drive our ambitious plans forward.

Sunrise will see us launch an array of communications, engagement plans, campaigns, and reward and recognition incentives, to make it easier for everyone to get involved and for us to work together for a better tomorrow.

Donating 10,000 Facemasks to The Children’s Society UK

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It is our honour and privilege to support organisations that do invaluable work in our society. This month, we were glad to be able to donate 10,000 facemasks to enable The Children’s Society to continue its important work. The Children’s Society helps children to escape and recover from extremely challenging situations, giving them a new start in their lives.

Darren Kinnane is going the extra 2807 miles

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Darren Kinnane is a Bidvest Noonan Security Manager in London. This year Darren is cycling 2807 miles in aid of GAIN charity. Why 2807 miles? That is the sum total of 14 conqueror fitness challenges. We asked Darren to share what inspired him to take this challenge on.

To support GAIN charity and encourage Darren’s challenge, click here to donate.

Why did you choose to support the GAIN Charity? Tell us about its cause.

My Key Account Director Alan O’Connor deserves recognition for choosing this charity. Every year we choose a different charity to support. In October 2020 one of our colleagues’ daughter was struck down by Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is a rare autoimmune condition affecting the peripheral nervous system, usually leading to temporary or long-term paralysis. As a team, we decided that we would help GAIN as they are the charity that raises awareness about this syndrome and they were also supporting our colleague. 

How did you come up with the idea of these virtual challenges?

The whole portfolio of our teams has been amazing doing all kinds of events to raise funds such as 100 sit-ups a day challenge. While I prefer walking, cycling, and hiking, I wanted to do my bit to help. I came across these virtual challenges and thought I can bang these out in a couple of months. I ditched my public transport card in February and bought a bicycle. It took me a month to get used to being on a bike again. 

On March 8th, I started the first of 14 virtual challenges, which you simulate and travel virtually to different routes around the world. When complete, it will total 2807 miles and I am currently 50% complete on my 5th challenge.

What motivates you to keep focused?

The fact that raising money for such a worthwhile cause in solidarity with a colleague is enough to get on the bike and keep on track, but I also get a nice sense of achievement after completing every event.

What’s been the most positive thing to come out of your challenge?

The most positive outcome from doing this challenge is that it is helping me a lot in trying to quit smoking. The trial period on the bike was very hard for me but now I see how I have progressed a lot.

What is the impact of being active on your mental health during the lockdown?

Throughout the pandemic I have been coming in to the building every day. Keeping this routine was important to me. I have a great team of ladies and gents who have been onsite during this time. I feel that as their manager it is my responsibility to be there for them especially for the days they are anxious and fed up and need a bit of levity.

Donating £10,000 to KidsOut

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We are very proud to have supported the charity KidsOut. We believe that our donation of £10,000 and all the individual gift contributions of our team to the Giving Tree have helped to bring joy to children in refuge homes over the festive season.

Donating 200,000 Face Masks

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This year we donated an incredible 200,000 facemasks to charities, schools, nursing homes, and organisations across the UK & Ireland. This feat would not have been possible without the amazing work of our people, who took time to travel and personally deliver each donation. The book doesn’t stop here as we plan to continue our campaign into 2021