Jarrow-based, UTS Engineering, is set to increase its financial support to the communities of South Tyneside.
During the past 12 months the company has donated in the region of £150,000 and is looking to see how it can support further initiatives given the impact of the Coronavirus on local communities.
UTS, which operates mainly in the utilities sector, is owned by Jarrow-born, Shaun Sadler and employs over 200 staff, the vast majority of whom are from South Tyneside.
Formed in 2001, the company, based on the Bede Industrial Estate, Jarrow, is a keen champion of sports, being a long-term sponsor of Dunston UTS Football club. In the last year, it has made a donation of £4,000 to Bilton Boxing Club, sponsored kit for Jarrow U12 Girls, Jarrow United FC under 15s and Tyne and Wear Athletico under 15s. It has also donated £1,000 per month to South Tyneside Ability FC, which provides disabled football coaching for children, adults and the visually impaired from its base at Keelmans Way School, Hebburn.
The company has also pledged £12,000 to Hebburn Helps food bank, following a visit by Shaun Sadler to the charity.
Responding, on average, to as many as 30 serious incidents every week, UTS operates in the utility and oil and gas sectors, manufacturing pipe fittings and fabrications and delivering them on site, anywhere in the UK, within 24 hours.
Shaun, said: “I was born and raised in Jarrow and feel very fortunate that I am able to give back to the borough and its residents. It is clear now, more than ever, that we need to look after each other and UTS Engineering is a business that values its people and the wider community, greatly.
“I hugely appreciate the incredible efforts that my team has made during these unprecedented times and to show my thanks, I have, for the last couple of months, asked Lee Hughes, owner of The Red Hackle, Jarrow, to provide my workforce with around 150 hot meals per week. The payment we make also covers 50 extra meals per week, which Lee delivers to the most vulnerable in the borough, so that they can enjoy good food. In addition, alongside our donation to Hebburn Helps Food Bank, we also offer support to Fellgate and Hedworth Food Bank.”
Shaun has also personally donated £1,000 to the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Gateshead, in return for local actor, author and sports promoter, Steve Wraith, wearing the Dunston UTS FC shirt during a recent podcast.
The company has also been directly helping in the fight against COVID-19, designing and donating specialist machinery for near neighbour and international clothing brand, Barbour, as it produces vitally needed PPE disposable gowns for local NHS Trusts.
Shaun, continued: “Going forward, charitable work will continue to be of huge importance to both the business and myself and we are looking at different ways that we can build on our support for those who need it most in the borough.”
