Civils & Lintels has made a bold statement of support for Mates in Mind, a national charity that raises awareness of the stigma of poor mental health, especially in the construction sector.
Part of the Huws Gray group of companies, the nationwide distributor of lintels, drainage and heavyside building materials raised over £21,000 for the charity in 2023 and is now rolling out refreshed signage on its fleet of 95 LGVs providing details of its free text helpline service.
The idea was the brainchild of Westbury-based driver Mark Byers, who unveiled the first truck to sport the new design. He said: “Having suffered with my own mental health, I’m really proud that this has happened.
“As a lorry driver, you spend lots of time on your own and if you’re not feeling 100%, it’s good to know that you can reach out to a great charity like Mates in Mind. Of course, those on building sites often also suffer in silence. Now, when they see this on my truck, they might be encouraged to give them a call.”
The Civils & Lintels team carried out a series of fundraising events throughout 2023 that included dedicated colleagues shaving their hair and beards off, one colleague travelling to all 18 Dutch Eredivisie stadiums in just 24 hours; sky-dives; teams climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest; collectively walking the equivalent distance of the route between all Civils & Lintels depots (over 1,200 miles) in one month; and a variety of cake sales, raffles and comedy nights, which all contributed to the impressive amount raised.
Civils & Lintels Managing Director Allan Wright recently joined the board of trustees at Mates in Mind. He said: “It’s vital that we focus our fundraising efforts on a cause that resonates with our own team. Mates in Mind has built a reputation for addressing issues around poor mental health in the construction industry and given the focus of our own work, the synergy is clear.
“I joined the board at Mates in Mind as a further demonstration of our commitment to this important charity and when Mark suggested we include details of the charity on our fleet of trucks it made perfect sense to do so.”
Allan added: “Those trucks not only reach our own nationwide teams across our 19 depots, but also our myriad of customers across housebuilding, groundworks, civil engineering and commercial contractors. Anything that we can do to encourage greater support around tackling poor mental health is time well-spent.”
Civils & Lintels has pledged to continue its support to Mates in Mind in 2024.
