Wates agrees charity partnership with Papyrus to become their next charity partner

Papyrus has announced a new partnership with construction firm Wates Group which aims to promote suicide prevention within the construction industry.

The partnership will provide suicide awareness training to almost 400 people across the firm and in local communities.

Employees of Wates Group, the family-owned, development, building and property maintenance company voted to choose Papyrus as their charity partner for the next 3 years.

As part of the partnership, 90 employees will be upskilled as charity champions, whilst 300 people in the local communities where Wates works will be offered Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).

Ged Flynn, Chief Executive at PAPYRUS said:

“We are overjoyed that our work with Wates Group over the last few years has assisted in us now becoming its official charity partner.

“Not only will this partnership be transformational for us as a charity, but we believe that the positive impact that it will have on such a large group of people will be hugely transformational for the construction industry.

“We are thrilled and are looking forward to making plans and starting our partnership. Together with Wates, we will help to save many lives and keep young people safe from suicide.”

Eoghan O’Lionaird, Chief Executive, Wates Group, said:

“The statistics on suicide in our industry are devastating, and it’s a cause everyone at Wates cares deeply about, as they demonstrated when selecting PAPYRUS to become our next charity partner. As employers, we not only feel a responsibility to address the issue of suicide within our industry, but we are also committed to supporting the communities where from continuing to rise.

“This partnership with PAPYRUS will provide vital training for our employees and members of the wider community, as well as sponsoring much-needed posts at the charity so it can continue its important work. We look forward to closely working with PAPYRUS over the next three years to raise awareness of this serious issue.”

Wates has set a fundraising target of £225,000 for the charity over the next 3 years via a series of events and activities to promote awareness of suicide prevention amongst their employees and communities.