THE team based at the Utilita office in Warrington, has donated electric ride-on cars to Warrington Hospital, to give children receiving critical care a chance to get in the fast lane.
Little ones being treated in the children’s ward at Warrington Hospital will be able to ride in the electric cars in dedicated breakout areas and use them to get to and from their treatment sessions.
The donation follows the gifting of two children’s toy cars to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth late last year, alongside the local Utilita Energy Hub in Gosport raising £2,701 during the first lockdown for the hospital charity. The cars were so well received by the children that the team at Utilita wanted to extend the donation to other areas of the UK where the smart energy supplier had a presence, including Warrington.
Helen Higginson, Head of Fundraising at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, expressed just how impactful these amazing Gifts will be: “Our young patients will love these very smart remote-control cars. The two mini-BMWs donated by Utilita have been allocated to our Children’s Ward and our Children’s A&E Paediatric unit. The experience of being driven to other areas of the Hospital for treatment may certainly help ease patients and their families anxiety….as well as being a little bit of fun.”
Mike Smith, Chief Financial Officer at the Utilita office in Warrington, commented: “It has been an extremely challenging 12 months for the NHS and we wanted to bring a smile on the faces of children being treated. The donation is merely a small gift from the business in supporting the amazing nurses and doctors for everything they have done. We will continue to help and support any local charities that need it.”
Leigh Rowsell, Director of Pearl Fit, who contributed to the supply of the cars, commented: “We at Pearl Fit Out are very pleased to have contributed alongside Utilita, to the supply of these cars for the various hospitals. We wanted to give something back to the NHS and this initiative by Utilita is certainly one that we were only too happy to get behind and support.
“It is a particularly difficult time for everyone, especially in hospitals at the moment, and the opportunity to give something to lift the spirits of children in hospitals across the country, is one that we at Pearl Fit Out are delighted to have be involved in.”
As a direct response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Utilita – the only energy company created to help households use less energy – introduced measures to reassure and promote a ‘worry-free’ experience for all customers, especially those experiencing hardship or vulnerability. In 2020 alone, Utilita issued £8.5m in account credits at zero interest for customers facing financial difficulty through its ‘Power Up’ feature in the My Utilita app, or via a customer call. Utilita’s dedicated Extra Care Team has also called every customer aged 80 and over to advise them on all the ways to top-up and stay on supply.
