Cancer patients are set to receive support from a Penkridge-based contractor whilst undergoing treatment in hospital.
Inco Contracts, which delivers hundreds of turnkey commercial refurbishment schemes across the UK every year, is aiming to raise £10,000 for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity with three specific initiatives in mind.
The decision to help the cause was partly made following the experiences of Senior Contracts Manager Tim Lewis and other members of the company.
Tim received the all-clear from cancer last year and is recovering after a two-year course of treatment that involved chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The 44-year-old Senior Contracts Manager for Inco in the West Midlands said: “We are passionate about supporting good causes in the communities we operate in and those that mean something to our staff, with nearly £20,000 raised for three charities since 2021.
“Cancer is something that touches pretty much every family in the UK and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust does an excellent job in helping treat thousands of patients every year, giving many of them the opportunity to live longer and some to have full recoveries.”
The firm has committed to supply 1,000 hypoallergenic comfort bags – filled with items such as wet wipes, lavender oil, tissues, activity books, a handheld fan, lip balm, udder cream, a pocket hug and a hand-knitted heart – for people undergoing chemotherapy.
Inco then hopes to raise money to supply 500 water bottles to individuals undergoing radiation treatment, who must drink a certain amount of water to ensure they have the correct level of urine in their bowel.
And Inco says it will use its supply chain skills to help the charity refurbish the Deanesly Centre garden at New Cross Hospital with staff and suppliers swapping their day jobs for a mini-DIY SOS project. Tasks will include jet washing and cleaning down the existing patio garden, installing furniture to meet the new design and applying manifestations to existing windows.
Tim, who is urging more people to make sure they go for a check-up if they spot anything out of the ordinary, said: “The ‘Chemo Comfort Bags’ are such a great idea and were only introduced as a trial to start with. However, the impact and feedback has been huge, and we wanted to ensure the Trust could give them to more people, including a children’s version.”
He added: “We want to raise over £10,000 from a series of events and individual challenges and that will go towards the bags, the radiation bottles and any specific projects we can help with.”
Amanda Winwood, Charity Development Manager at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity, said: “It’s so important that local businesses get behind our work and help us to make life a little easier for our patients.
“Inco Contracts has gone above and beyond, committing to working with us for the entire year and not only donating money, but also their construction expertise and their time.”
