Two charities – Carlisle Mencap and the Children’s Society – are the latest to benefit from donations from a firm currently building two care homes in Cumbria.
Eric Wright Construction, part of the Eric Wright Group, is currently building care homes in Carlisle and Whitehaven. The new 60-bed residential care home in Carlisle is on the site of the former Morton Primary School in Burnrigg Road and will replace three older homes in the area – Elizabeth Welsh, Petteril House and Langrigg. The new care home in Whitehaven is in Cleator Moor Road and has the same number of beds. Both developments are costing in the region of £6m.
Linked in to the two developments are donations of £250 each from Eric Wright Construction – the Children’s Society the chosen charity for the Whitehaven development and Carlisle Mencap being the beneficiaries of the Carlisle building project.
The £250 to Carlisle Mencap will go towards services and support at the charity’s Grace Little Centre for children in Crindledyke Road. Christine Bowditch, chair of Carlisle Mencap, said: “All donations are very welcome and we are delighted that Eric Wright Construction chose us on this occasion.”
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust, which wholly owns the Eric Wright Group, was set up in 1990. It is part of Eric Wright Group’s policy of social integration and, through the Trust, involvement with local charities. Suzanne Taylor, marketing, PR and corporate social responsibility manager for the Eric Wright Group, said: “The Trust’s charitable strategy is focused on six areas – young persons’ development; education and training; health and wellbeing; carers’ support; elderly care; and community and voluntary service organisations.
“In turn, Eric Wright Group seeks to build on this charitable strategy, supplementing the Trust’s activities in ways the Trust itself could not achieve. We are delighted to have helped such vital charities as Carlisle Mencap and the Children’s Society.”
The Eric Wright Group was the company behind the £11.4m Botchergate headquarters of Cumbria County Council in Carlisle.
And in March 1998, the Eric Wright Charitable Trust bought the Water Park Estate on Coniston Water to refurbish the former mansion house as a residential outdoor centre focusing on young people and groups with additional needs. To date the centre has provided £2.2m in financial support for over 50,000 young people to attend courses to build confidence, teamwork and life skills.