Venari Group help Huddersfield Giants Community Trust support local dementia sufferers

Brighouse-based emergency vehicle manufacturer Venari Group has pledged £15,000 to cover the cost of employing a member of staff at Huddersfield Giants’ Community Trust’s (HGCT) brand-new multi-sensory room.

The donation will help HGCT to finally open the doors to its £35,000 ‘Multi-Sensory Room’, which was installed last month, following three years of fundraising efforts.

Located at The Zone, off St Andrews Road, the facility has been installed to create a safe, interactive space for users. Suitable for babies, children with additional needs and dementia sufferers, the room is able to create passive or immersive experiences which aid cognition, life development and brain stimulation.

Alongside covering the cost of a part-time member of staff, Venari Group is also pledging to pay for additional equipment. The Brighouse-based business, which is the largest manufacturer of ambulances and fire vehicles in the UK, is chaired and managed by local duo Ken Davy and CEO Oliver North.

Speaking about Venari’s commitment to HGCT, group CEO Oliver North, said: “At Venari, we see every day the positive and life-changing impact that technology has on lives. So, after realising the facility wouldn’t open until HGCT had raised additional funds for the salary of a member of staff, we felt obliged to help. We knew that the community would benefit from it being open as soon as possible, at a time when lockdown has negatively impacted so many lives.

Clearly, the charity is extremely close to Ken’s heart, and mine too, after losing my grandmother to dementia in 2018. It is Venari’s absolute privilege to be able to play a small part in supporting such a fantastic and worthy cause; whilst creating a job within the community.”

Lisa Darwin, CEO of HGCT, said: “We have been extremely excited about the Multi-Sensory project for a while. Our fundraising efforts supported our passion to offer a safe and multi-purpose environment for users. The generosity from Venari Group and Oliver is an incredible gesture that will help support the delivery of our programmes to the local and surrounding community.

“This has been a testing year with all the restrictions but once these are lifted, we cannot wait to offer our new and exciting service.”

Oliver concluded: “Our day-to-day job is to grow and improve on a daily basis as a manufacturer, in-turn driving local employment and opportunity. We must also support our community when and where possible which we’re proud to do with Lisa and her selflessly incredible team.”