Warwick-based charity's appeal for help is heard

A Warwick-based charity that helps and supports thousands of people who have been through sexual abuse has been given a helping hand on completing essential maintenance work.
Gerberit who are based in Warwick, recently stepped in and repaired the leak and provided a new toilet facility forSafeline.

Pictured: Rob Gordon (Service Engineer Manager - Gerberit), Neil Henderson (Safeline) & Tina Coxon (Head of HR - Gerberit). NNL-180619-223629009Gerberit who are based in Warwick, recently stepped in and repaired the leak and provided a new toilet facility forSafeline.

Pictured: Rob Gordon (Service Engineer Manager - Gerberit), Neil Henderson (Safeline) & Tina Coxon (Head of HR - Gerberit). NNL-180619-223629009
Gerberit who are based in Warwick, recently stepped in and repaired the leak and provided a new toilet facility forSafeline. Pictured: Rob Gordon (Service Engineer Manager - Gerberit), Neil Henderson (Safeline) & Tina Coxon (Head of HR - Gerberit). NNL-180619-223629009

Safeline, which has been in Warwick for 24 years, is a specialist charity that helps those who are survivors of sexual abuse and rape.

In the years the charity has been in the town they have helped over 50,000 people who are survivors of sexual abuse and rape.

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The charity also works with schools to help prevent abuse, helps people report abuse to the police, trains professionals and parents on how to keep people safe and operates the national helpline for male victims of sexual abuse.

In December the charity launched an appeal in the Courier to help raise £10,000 to help repair a broken toilet at its office in New Street.

Prior to the appeal the toilet has been out of order for six months, leaving them with one working toilet because of ongoing leak problems.

After a few weeks sanitary ware company Geberit, whose UK headquarters is based in Tournament Fields, Warwick, stepped in to give the charity a helping hand.

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Neil Henderson, CEO of Safeline, said: “This project was much bigger than a toilet donation. We had a massive leak that was going into a premises downstairs.

“A plumbing contractor estimated the cost of putting the leak right at £10,000. This would have taken limited resources away from supporting our clients at a time of heightened need; something we didn’t want to do. The Courier ran piece for us in the paper and that’s how we connected to Geberit.

“Rob Gordon, came in, identified the leak, put it right, and put in a new toilet for us and tiled it, so it was much bigger than just donating it. Not only did they give hardware, they gave their time.

“Everyone at Safeline is extremely grateful to Geberit for its support.

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“Refurbishing the toilet was hugely important to us because the clients we support often need a quiet space to collect themselves before they discuss what happened to them and because the toilet wasn’t working, this opportunity was being denied to them.

“Since the toilet has been back in use, the feedback from clients has been amazing. We didn’t fully appreciate how unsettled some of the clients were and how it had affected the quality of their counselling.

“It is wonderful when a business in the area supports a local charity in the way Geberit has done, the benefits for the community are there to be seen.”

Tina Coxon, head of human resources at Geberit, said: “We’re always looking for ways to make a positive contribution to the wider community especially when it involves helping those in need of support.

“Everyone in the business admires what Safeline does for our community, and we’re delighted to have had the opportunity to use our resources to give back to such a great cause.”