Hill pledges over £10 million to rehome and help the homeless
We are extremely proud to announce we are donating 200 homes to house homeless people, estimated to cost in excess of £10 million, to commemorate our 20th anniversary.
The pledge to help the homeless and provide 200 fully fitted homes, known as Foundation 200, will be delivered through our newly formed charitable trust, Hill Group Foundation, and will help the estimated 103,200 people suffering from core homelessness in London and the South.
There is also a Christmas charity drive being undertaken by our 600+ employees to collect clothing and food at 21 donation sites, in association with 20 local homeless charities. All donations will also include a gift of at least £250 from us to each of the named charities, totalling over £5,000.
In 1999, our founder and CEO, Andy Hill, was made redundant and he, with his young family, risked losing their home. Luckily fortune prevailed, and after setting up and growing the family-run business it now has over 10,000 homes currently under construction or in the pipeline.
Homelessness is a growing crisis which I feel very passionately about and it is particularly bleak at this time of year. Life changing events affect us all in different ways and over the years I have learnt to appreciate it can affect more than those who come from deprived backgrounds in the first place. After celebrating our 20th year of building homes at Hill, I want to give something back and create real opportunities for people who are living on the streets, to help turn their lives around. The whole business is taking huge pride in delivering these initiatives, and while we will not solve the problem today, we are taking a big step in the right direction which we hope others will follow.
Our pledge is to help rehome the homeless – we are stepping up to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Gifting homes in this way has never been done before, so we are creating the blue print and working on a site by site basis with local charities, Housing Associations and Local Authorities to deliver these homes. We have already been touched by the amount of goodwill this project has brought in, everyone wants to help and get involved, and we can’t wait to get the first sites underway early next year.
Foundation 200 homes
All 200 bespoke designed homes will be completed and inhabited within five years, with the first sites anticipated next year. The properties will have a minimum 60 year life expectancy and will be built to an exceptional standard utilising offsite Modern Methods of Construction. The homes will be arranged in small groups, with no more than eight on one site and no higher than two storeys.
We are working with Local Authorities and Housing Associations to source land and secure planning for each of the small sites. Each site will also have a local homeless charity partner, who will be gifted the completed homes and manage the re-homing process. The partnering Local Authority and/or Housing Association will assume repairs and maintenance responsibilities. The properties will be handed over to the partner charity fully furnished and include everything from furniture, white goods, soft furnishings, bedding and even plates and cutlery.
Christmas clothing and food drive
The Christmas clothing and food donation sites are located at Hill’s offices and large residential developments across London and the South East. Employees, suppliers and visitors are all being encouraged to donate specific items to help homeless people this winter. All donations will be gifted to the 20 named local charities, along with a donation of £250 for each charity from the company. Hill has also promised to double its financial contribution for the charity/charities associated with the donation point who demonstrates the strongest engagement with collecting goods. All of the donations will all be delivered by the 18th December, in time for Christmas.
For those parties looking to get involved in Foundation 200, please contact Hill at [email protected]. For more information on Foundation 200 please visit www.hill.co.uk/about-hill/foundation-200
