Community & Charity

Lawsons is proudly to be in partnership with Spread a Smile who send a variety of entertainers and two Pet Therapy dogs into Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College Hospital, The Royal London and St. Mary’s. Over 3,500 young people a year are regularly entertained, giving much needed joy and laughter to the seriously ill children and their families.

Managing Director, Paul Sexton, said

“Having attended a simple barbeque in aid of Spread a Smile, I came away with a feeling that we can, and need to do more, and that this was just the start of hopefully a long partnership with Spread a Smile. I’ve always believed that it is easy to give a financial donation and as generous as this is, you can argue that this is a way of easing your conscience, but by giving time, resource and commitment I knew that we could take this partnership to a new level. Lawsons is built on a culture of family values and professional service. Spread a smile absolutely mirror these values. The family values part is demonstrated through their teams made up of families and friends’ commitment to bringing sunshine into the darkest days of the families they support.”

Lawsons’ staff proudly support Spread a Smile and have been fundraising by pedaling ‘Miles for Smiles’ in July 2016, running marathons, shaving their heads and beards along the way.

During the year Lawsons arrange a variety of days bringing together its staff, the Spread a Smile organisation and its recipients. We have invited the children and their families to our family orientated days such as our Family Fun Day and our children’s annual Christmas Party where every child gets to enjoy a magical themed party and gets a special visit from Santa Claus himself.

We recently were invited to attend the Spread a Smile summer ball and it was a wonderfully glamourous evening, it was an opportunity to hear the stories of some the patients and their families. Spread a Smile has such a great impact on the children and teenagers it clearly shows that laughter is a brilliant medicine for each of them.

If you would like to learn more about Spread a Smile please click here: www.spreadasmile.org

Hospices of Hope is the leading palliative care charity in South Eastern Europe. Everyone deserves the best possible care at the end of life. But in developing countries like Romania, Serbia or Moldova many patients still die in pain, without being offered any physical, spiritual or emotional comfort.

Almost 20 years after the fall of communism these are still some of the poorest countries in Europe, with a struggling healthcare system that offers little or nothing in the way of hospice care.

Lawsons support the Hospices of Hope on an ongoing basis, in 2011 we sent a team of managers to Brasov in Romania. During this trip we helped by building a new garden area for the patients and staff.

In September 2016, Zara Dyer suffered serious brain injuries following a car crash in Grand Cayman where she was working as a scuba diving instructor. The injuries were so severe that her family were warned that they should fly out to see her immediately.

But now, after making major progress and taking great strides in her recovery back in Lowestoft, the 31-year-old is looking ahead to the New Year.

Millions Steps Website

We’re proud to be associated and working with Harlow Foodbank which is a charity founded by local churches and community groups aiming to stop hunger in their local areas. Specifically, they, ‘don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.’ 

Due to the difficulty and uncertainty many families have faced during the COVID period, the demand for their service has grown exponentially. As a result, they needed to add an extra floor of storage in their warehouse to keep more food and supplies for those in need.

We were made aware of this issue and a few weeks later and with a delivery of steel beams, they have been able to improve the efficiency of their work by adding a whole other platform of storage!  This has allowed them to open a new ‘Baby Bank’ project from the storehouse, distributing essential goods to children in town.

The Chief Executive Officer Andy Thornton said, ‘Lawson’s have been our bedrock for these operations, and I just want to thank you again so much for all you have done and continue to do.’

We continue to work with the charity and hope that we can be involved in future products that help those in need.

Check out their amazing work atwww.harlow.foodbank.org.uk