Social housing resident recognised for £10,000 fundraising efforts

A Birmingham resident, who wanted to give back to a housing association after they helped find his long lost family, was recognised for his fundraising efforts.

John Giles, a Trident Group resident since 2006, was reunited with relatives after Trident stepped in to trace them. John now spends his time to help those in need within the community, as a sign of appreciation.

Following a chance meeting with Trident staff and learning more about the work Trident Reach, the Group’s charity arm, do across the Midlands, John decided to get involved and see how he could help.

After a quick phone call to Marie Calder, Trident Reach’s Customer Engagement Officer, and understanding what her fundraising goals and needs were, John got to work.

Fourteen months later and fundraising up to £10,000 for Trident Reach, John’s dedication has now been marked with a Trident Reach award for Fundraiser of the Year for his hard work.

John said of winning the award: “I cannot thank Trident Group enough for when they were there for me in my time of need. Because of them I am now reunited with my family and have a new found passion for helping others in need.”

John went onto say: “I grew up in the 1950s and have lived through poverty. So to see the re-emergence of poverty again in today’s age and to see the people Trident Reach work with needing items to live a normal life, how can one not get involved? You always have to remember that there is always someone who is more worse off than you and whilst my health holds up, I’ll spend my time fundraising for Marie and helping people out in need.”

Marie Calder, who presented John with the award, said: “Without the hard work of volunteers like John, we would not be able to provide items that bring support and comfort to our customers and tenants in their time of need. John has helped fundraise and collect much needed items for our move on packs for customers who go onto live independently, as well as providing warm clothing for our homeless services and children’s toys for our annual Christmas Grotto.”

“Our volunteers and customers are at the heart of what I do in my role and it’s so refreshing that our customers who have become volunteers for the charity want to give something back for the support they have received. I am very humbled and proud to be able to work with people like John and all my other volunteers.”