When we all look back at this strange period, there will undoubtedly be strong images to take away from these uncertain times.
Most will remember the heroic efforts of Captain Tom Moore, who raised an astonishing £32m for NHS charities by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. Many of us may also look back at people coming together to sing on balconies in Italy to raise spirits as well the weekly national applause of gratitude for our brave NHS workers. They put themselves at risk to keep us all safe.
One could say that the COVID-19 lockdown has shown that amid the fear and uncertainty, there is also a real sense of community, support and hope. It shows that when people come together to provide help, the resulting gestures of kindness, however large or small, can prove incredibly powerful.
When fellow Halesworth based customer Herrco Cosmetics requested thousands of bottles from Spectra because they had decided to make their own antibacterial sanitiser and distribute them for free among the local community, the opportunity to provide one of those gestures of support and kindness was too good to pass, according to Jonathan Powell, Spectra’s Sales Director.
Jonathan said,
“Herrco’s desire to help the community in this time of need has been incredible. By providing the bottles and caps, we were able to show we wanted to support their amazing work wholeheartedly. The partnership clearly illustrates that when companies work together, great things can be achieved”.
Strictly adhering to social distancing measures, staff from Herrco Cosmetics delivered over 20,000 bottles of hand sanitiser to crucial workers and small businesses, with 3,000 hand-delivered to residents in the Halesworth area too. In the weeks that followed, the initiative has rapidly grown, with the tens of thousands of bottles donated to those who need it most.
Indeed, many of the filled bottles were also hand-delivered to several care homes in the local area by Spectra, who identified they required as much help as possible. Other donations have also made their way to doctors surgeries, fire crews and other worthy recipients.
Although the pocket-sized 50ml bottles and caps were made at Spectra’s Halesworth plant and formulated and filled by Herrco Cosmetics at their site just down the road, another major contributor to the project was Olympus Print Group Ltd. who provided the labels for the packs.
Jonathan went on to say,
“The pressures put on vital frontline services during the pandemic cannot be underestimated. Any support offered is a small gesture of our gratitude for the selfless work they do under incredibly challenging conditions. Working with Herrco on this worthwhile initiative has been very humbling”.
John Wiley, Production Director at Herrco Cosmetics, said,
“We at Herrco Cosmetics have felt very privileged to be in a position to offer help during this challenging time to our local community and many frontline organisations. To be able to do this with a preferred partner like Spectra makes it even better! We have a fantastic normal day to day relationship due to having similar ethics and passions that this project is just an example of how we work so well together”.
