INEOS donates £10,000 to the Instant Neighbour Charity to help alleviate food poverty in Aberdeenshire across 15,000 people a year

Sophy Green, Chief Executive at Instant Neighbour said: “Covid-19 has put an increased demand on our services. We have had to adapt our way of working to best support those in need, whilst ensuring our staff stay safe. The donation from INEOS will ensure the continuing smooth running of our services and will mean those who need our support will get it. Whilst it has been a very uncertain time we are really proud how our organisation and the community have pulled together to help those in need.”

INEOS has given £10,000 in support of Aberdeen-based charity Instant Neighbour, through its international Community fund. This grant will help support the vital work the charity does in alleviating poverty so that people across the region can experience a better quality of life. The charity provides direct support through the provision of food parcels as well as practical assistance by offering paid employment and training opportunities.

Instant Neighbour was established 35 years ago to address the needs of people living in poverty, working very closely alongside other third sector agencies in the City to provide a comprehensive support network for the most vulnerable people in the community. Each year, the charity delivers over 5,000 emergency food parcels and other related services to those who need them most. A significant number of people have to rely on support on a regular basis. Many are mostly long term unemployed, homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. The current pandemic is only compounding their issues and increasing the demand on charities such as Instant Neighbour.

The support from INEOS will directly help people who have been told to self-isolate, or shield, many of whom have never needed to use a foodbank before. It will also help people suffering. It will assist the charity to widen their provision of food parcels to families and carers who are struggling to cover the cost of extra food.

In addition, the INEOS support will help to:

• Allow Instant Neighbour to stay open and continue operating their helpline.
• Continue to update social media with information, as well as creating a leaflet to go into food parcels which will provide vital information on what help is available and how to keep safe.
• Ensure the Community Connector team can meet directly with clients attending the Food Bank (whilst practising social distancing) to give advice, listen to problems and offer support.
• Keep the continuation of Emergency Food Parcels. These parcels also provide toiletries and basic hygiene items, baby food, nappies and pet food, if needed.

Sophy Green, Chief Executive at Instant Neighbour said: “Covid-19 has put an increased demand on our services. We have had to adapt our way of working to best support those in need, whilst ensuring our staff stay safe. The donation from INEOS will ensure the smooth running of our services and will mean those who need our support will get it. Whilst it has been a very uncertain time we are really proud how our organisation and the local community have pulled together to help those in need.”

The £1m INEOS Community Fund was established by INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe in March 2020 in tandem with the company’s COVID-19 “Hands On” campaign, which set up new production lines to provide millions of bottles of free hand sanitiser per month to hospitals and frontline healthcare. To be eligible, Charities and Community Groups had to be nominated by INEOS employees from one of INEOS’ 183 sites which ensured support for ongoing vital work in their local communities at this particularly difficult time.

Nominating INEOS employee Matthew Newbiggin, said, “Instant Neighbour is a hugely important organisation for the community, helping over 15,000 people every year. The work they do is vital in helping the vulnerable in our community, and those who Covid-19 has impacted the most. I am extremely pleased that INEOS has been able to help them continue the amazing work they do.”

International Rescue Corps receives boost with INEOS donation

• Grangemouth-based International Rescue Corps, has become the latest local charity in the Falkirk District to benefit from a Community Fund established by INEOS
• A £2000 INEOS donation will enable the Charity to provide transport and deploy volunteer personnel to deliver food parcels to vulnerable families and school breakfast club members in Grangemouth during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic
• International Rescue Corp’s Robert Barrie, says, “The Grant we have received from the INEOS Community Fund is vital and will allow us to continue our local operations in Grangemouth and Falkirk, supporting those most vulnerable in the community. INEOS’ donation has come at just the right time for us.”

At a time when their fundraising activities have been curtailed or cancelled, a £2000 donation from INEOS’ Community Fund has been a very welcome boost for the International Rescue Corps – who rely wholly on donations and contributions from members of the public at fundraising events to enable their vital work.

The Grangemouth-headquartered Charity is best known for responding to and working overseas during disasters and events. Since its formation in 1981, the team has utilised its experience and ability to mobilise anywhere in the world in response to natural and man-made disasters such as earthquakes and floods, drawing specialists together from across the UK.

This strength, however, has also provided significant challenges for the Charity during the Covid-19 outbreak, explains Anne Marie Macdonald, IRC’s National Training and Administration Officer:  “The very thing that is a strength of the organisation, is, in this case, a huge weakness.  The fact that our membership is spread all over the UK means that only one area in the UK has enough members in close proximity to each other to be able to offer significant assistance during the current pandemic - Grangemouth.”

And so using their vehicles and their specialised skills in logistics and crisis response management, the IRC has turned its focus to supporting members of the local community in and around Falkirk. As part of the Scottish Community Resilience Network and member of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Community Asset Register, the IRC team are playing an important role in a coordinated community response to the pandemic. The £2000 INEOS donation will enable the Charity to mobilise their volunteers and assist local organisations, including the Kersiebank Food Project in their delivery of a number of vital services to the community. IRC members have deployed their resources to distribute food parcels to the most deprived and vulnerable people in the area and also delivered the 'Kids Breakfast Club' supplies to the local children who attend the school 'breakfast club', similar to the free school meals initiative.

IRC Operational Director, Robert (Rab) Barrie concludes, “The Grant we have received from the INEOS Community Fund is vital and will allow us to continue our local operations in Grangemouth and Falkirk, supporting those most vulnerable in the community. Donations such as those received from INEOS are our only income and has come just the right time for us.”

The Charity was nominated by Kris Anderson, Mechanical Technician at INEOS’ Forties Pipeline System (FPS) business in Kinneil. Kris said, “INEOS has recognised the important role of the IRC and has supported the charity with supplies of hand sanitiser to protect their volunteers during their community work. With the Charity’s income stream coming under severe strain, the financial donation comes on top of this and helps the Corps to continue their valuable work in the local community close to our manufacturing operations in Grangemouth.”

Local Mental Health Charity benefits from the INEOS Community Fund as it adapts the delivery of its vital services

• Falkirk and District Mental Health Association (FDAMH) is having to adapt its services to vulnerable members of the community as Covid-19 calls a halt to face to face support
• A £2000 Grant from the INEOS Community Fund will support the adaptation of resources, taking them on line and directly into clients’ homes
• Angie Bell, Psychoeducational Group Work Manager at FDAMH, says, “The Grant we have received from the INEOS Community Fund is vital and will allow us to adjust the way in which we interface with our clients as we change from being face to face to going on-line. Specifically it will enable us to continue offering group work remotely and via on-line resources.”
• The Community Fund was established by INEOS owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe, John Reece and Andy Currie as part of the company’s social response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mental health charity, Falkirk and District Mental Health Association (FDAMH) that supports individuals to recover from mental ill health has received a £2000 Grant from the INEOS Community Fund to assist their work during the current pandemic. The mental health charity is having to adapt its services and courses to vulnerable members of the community as Covid-19 calls a halt to face to face service provision and support.

Nominated by INEOS employee Dave Clark, the Falkirk and District Mental Health Association last year helped over 2000 people in the region. As a consequence of Covid-19, the charity has had to rethink the way in which it delivers it services and in particular its highly effective ‘Positive Wellbeing’ and ‘Improving Self-esteem & Communications’ courses.

Angie Bell, Psychoeducational Group Work Manager at FDAMH, says, “As a charity working to support people with reduced psychological wellbeing, the current pandemic has required us to adjust the way we would normally deliver our services. Prior to the current situation most of our services were delivered face to face. However, we have been able to continue to support people despite the lockdown via telephone support and online platforms to deliver face to face sessions, where applicable. In particular, the use of online video platforms allows us to continue to deliver group work and this grant will be used to provide participants with printed workbooks and materials (which we will post to them) to augment the online courses. We are grateful for this contribution especially at a time when donations to the charity are significantly reduced.”

Nominating employee Dave said, “Mental illness impacts not only the person suffering from it, but it can also have an emotional effect on other family members, friends and work colleagues. Falkirk and District Mental Health Association provides excellent support in the Region to those who are suffering from mental ill health along with providing advice and support to family members who are also having to live with it. I am delighted that the company I work for has approved a Grant to enable the charity to continue to undertake their valuable work during these testing and unprecedented times.”

INEOS is funding Strathcarron Hospice@Home service for the month of July

The INEOS Community Fund was established by the INEOS owners in March 2020 as part of the company’s social response to the Covid-19 pandemic. INEOS employees worldwide were invited to nominate local charities and good causes around the company’s 183 sites that had been adversely affected by the pandemic.

During the qualifying period, the fund has provided grants to support a range of community charities including food banks, hospices, homeless centres, mental health and domestic abuse services. One of those receiving a Grant was Strathcarron Hospice – nominated by two employees at Grangemouth.

The following statement was issued by the Hospice:

Strathcarron Hospice has received a generous donation of £22,422 from INEOS, which will be used to fund its Hospice@Home service for the month of July.

Strathcarron’s Hospice@Home service is the only model of its kind in Scotland and enables people to remain at home, surrounded by everyone and everything they love, in their last weeks of life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has seen a significant increase in the number of people being referred to this service.

Dying is a fundamentally human experience and a key challenge is to recognise that the home is the preferred care setting for many. Figures from Hospice UK show that 75% of people want to die at home, but only 25% actually do. Because of the Coronavirus, and the restrictions put in place on visiting hospitals and hospices, it has been even more important for people to remain at home in familiar surroundings and in the company of close family and friends. This was particularly true for Joyce whose mum recently benefitted from the care and support of Strathcarron’s Hospice@Home team:

"Self-isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic was just too much for our mum and most definitely hastened her illness. Like the majority of the country our family was observing the “Stay at Home” regulations but by phone conversations we could sense things weren’t right. I was shocked to realise just how true that was.

For a couple of weeks, I felt we were so alone but then the district nurses visited and immediately put help in place. They contacted Strathcarron’s Hospice@Home team whom we cannot praise highly enough. The service was quite new four years ago when our dad was really ill so we had experienced their care then (although for a shorter period of time)

I was immediately reassured on opening the door to the Hospice@Home team on that first day. Caring, capable, compassionate, kind, are the words that immediately spring to mind. They made such a difference to mum in the way of emotional and personal care and gave such reassurance to my sister and myself.

It is an old cliché but words cannot do justice to the care of the Hospice@Home Team. Nor could a monetary value be placed, as it is priceless.  It is a really wonderful service."

Jenny Stevenson, Hospice@Home Lead Nurse added: “Our Hospice@Home service is run in its entirety on donations, receiving no statutory funding, and this support from INEOS could not have come at a more crucial time. With our charity shops closed, fundraising events, campaigns and collections cancelled, this type of financial support is needed now more than ever. We firmly believe that people should be where they want to be when they die. If this is at home, in their own bed, with music playing, family or pets around, then that is what we will strive to achieve. The donation from INEOS will help us to make this possible for around 40-50 over the next month, and we are so incredibly grateful. The money really will make the most meaningful difference, at the most difficult time right now, and it most definitely will not be forgotten by us, or the families who benefit from this support.”

Andrew Gardner, CEO INEOS in Grangemouth, said: “INEOS employees at Grangemouth are very aware of the special contribution and commitment the staff at Strathcarron Hospice provide to their patients and their relatives. We are extremely pleased to be able to help the Hospice, through this gift, to manage the increase in the number of patients choosing their Hospice@Home service during the pandemic. This means that patients will continue to have the option to be cared for in the last weeks of their lives at home, surrounded by their loved ones, with the support of the caring staff from the Hospice.”

INEOS Community Fund extends lifeline to Maddiston Food Bank as COVID-19 sees three-fold increase in referrals for its services

• Braes Storehouse Food Bank, based in Maddiston, is the latest local community group in the Falkirk Council area to benefit from a Community Fund established by INEOS
• Braes Storehouse Food Bank’s James Lawder, says, “The Grant we have received from the INEOS Community Fund is vital. It will allow us to continue to operate the food bank in the Braes area during the current lockdown restrictions and thereafter. It has come at just the right time for us.”
• The Community Fund was established by INEOS owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe, John Reece and Andy Currie as part of the company’s social response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Braes Storehouse Food Bank has been supported with a grant from the INEOS Community Fund at a time when referrals for its service have seen a threefold increase.

Nominated by INEOS employee Ian Campbell, Pipeline Specialist, the £2000 donation will support the Braes Storehouse Food Bank help those people, in the Braes, Maddiston and surrounding local communities who find themselves in financial hardship. The Community Group also offers volunteering opportunities to bring people together to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. T

The Food Bank which receives referrals via Falkirk Council Social Work, Citizens Advice Bureau, Job Centres and local schools normally operates a six week food programme with toiletries and household items given out on Weeks 3 and 6. However, it has had to make significant changes as a consequence of the pandemic and the three fold increase in demand for the vital service it provides.

James Lawder, Treasurer for the Food Bank, said, “Due to the COVID-19 crisis, we have had to adapt our operations and at the same time we have seen an increase in referrals. We are now offering emergency food bags plus a toiletries and household parcel with the option of top up food bags every two to three weeks. This means we are having to spend more on food plus toiletries and household items than we budgeted for. The Grant from INEOS has come just at the right time for us. It will allow us to continue to operate the food bank in the Braes area during the current lockdown restrictions and thereafter. ”

Nominating employee Ian said, “In the midst of all this uncertainty and sadness, this is really good news for a local community group undertaking very important work in the local communities adjacent to INEOS’ manufacturing site at Grangemouth. I would like to thank INEOS for their support.”

Business Studies pupils on course for new academic year

INEOS’ Grangemouth site provides ‘live learning resource’

“The pupils will now be starting the new academic year with real life examples from the commercial-world to support their studies.”

Pupils at Grangemouth High School will be starting the new academic year with an enhanced perspective on the ‘business world’ thanks to a two-week project they undertook in June with their local largest business, INEOS.

The innovative project was specifically designed to support the Business Studies syllabus through collaborative work between the school’s business department and the INEOS commercial team based at Grangemouth.

Peter Grant, Business Director for INEOS Chemicals at Grangemouth said, “This was a ‘first’ for the INEOS Grangemouth site. We have strong education/ business links with the high school based on promoting science, engineering and technological subjects and we were keen to develop a project that is focussed specifically on the commercial aspect of our operations.”

Working with teachers of the Business Studies Department the aim was to bring the school curriculum to life by providing real examples for students and teachers to refer to through the rest of the academic year.

Using the INEOS Grangemouth site as a ‘live case study’, almost 30 students spent the first day of the fortnight exploring various aspects of how a successful business operates. Each team was mentored over the course of the fortnight by INEOS Commercial Graduates and their managers, which culminated in a series of presentations delivered to a specially invited audience.

Stuart Keillor, Supply Chain Manager, INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth commented, “The quality of the presentations was very high and the pupils demonstrated a growing understanding of a number of key concepts from the world of business. The pupils will now be starting the new academic year with real life examples from the commercial-world to support their studies. We are confident that the interaction over the fortnight with our Commercial Graduates will be very useful in providing real applications to the academic concepts they will be covering as part of their business studies course.”

Media contact

David East (INEOS Grangemouth)    01324 476948 or 07768 301709

Employee volunteering

The Grangemouth site has a long tradition of supporting employees’ volunteering commitment. It forms the basis of our Social Investment programme.

Social Investment gives us the opportunity to enhance the positive nature of our business.

There are three basic elements to Grangemouth's Social Investment Strategy:

Community: our focus is firmly on supporting our local communities, to raise and maintain the site's profile and to support the voluntary activities of our employees

Education: encouraging science and engineering in local schools in support of our business needs

Enterprise: leveraging our expertise to promote growth in the local economy and Scotland.

Developing the Young Workforce

An annual plan of activities with Grangemouth High School has been drawn up that will deliver coordinated school student and teachers visits to the site as well as providing opportunities for employees to visit the school to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Duncan McIntosh, Learning and Development Manager, says: “Under the national Developing Young Workforce initiative we have been able to establish a formal framework with Grangemouth High School.  The framework helps INEOS employees to share their experience and knowledge in Science, Technology and Engineering with the school. Our presence close to the school makes it a perfect partnership to help prepare local school pupils for the world of work.”

The DYW strategy, which has been rolled out across Scotland, has the aim of helping support young people into employment and complements the work the site has continued to undertake in working with local schools.

In March the site welcomed two groups of students into the works laboratory from the school’s ‘Skills for Work Lab’ class. The students were given demonstrations of some of the analytical techniques used in one of Scotland’s most advanced industrial laboratories. They had the opportunity to contrast these with those used in the school laboratory and to discover some of the activities undertaken by a key employer that shares the same town as they do.