A Christmas Message – from the Timber Trades Benevolent Society

On behalf of the TTBS Trustees, the 2016 National President, Robert Bruce and most importantly, our many UK beneficiaries, I would like to thank you for all the support you have given the Society throughout the year.

By the end of the year, we will have distributed nearly £140,000 to assist the retired and sick from the timber trade and also some younger beneficiaries, who have fallen ill, have become handicapped or who have lost partners and are still caring for children.
This is a similar amount to 2015, but does not include any extraordinary one off grants as we provided in 2015, so it clearly reflects the increases to regular allowances that we have made and also the Society’s success in finding new beneficiaries to replace those sadly departed.

Our beneficiaries are helped in many ways with a combination of various grants and allowances, including quarterly payments, TV licences, telephone allowances, payments in the Spring and at Christmas, a winter fuel allowance and luxury Christmas hampers. We also make one-off grants for domestic appliances and disabled equipment as well as the occasional respite break, debt relief and help with funeral expenses.

We could not do it without your corporate and individual financial donations or without the incredible support you give to our National Golf event. In 2016, this was held at The Belfry sponsored by the Carver Group from Wolverhampton and in 2017, it will be staged at Slayley Hall, Northumberland with main sponsor Lonza Wood Protection.

In addition, all the other golf days, clay shoots, curry nights, lunches, dinners and other social events organised by our nine Regional TTBS Committees around the UK which provides an exceptional programme for the trade and guests to enjoy.
We continue to seek new beneficiaries and this will be an ongoing priority. With the ever-changing industry, much of the personal contact has been lost and when people retire from work or are forced to finish because of long term health issues, they are invariably quickly forgotten.

So the TTBS strives to address this through companies’ HR departments, to drill down throughout their organisations, to ensure employees know where they can get help from in the future.

Critically, the Society continues the networking with the timber industry to ensure that we are in the forefront for charity support from companies and their employees. Too often “the Timber Trades Own Charity” is forgotten or perhaps substituted for a higher profile or more glamorous charity – a great pity when TTBS is assisting our own past timber trade colleagues who need our support.
We are most grateful to all the trade organisations, including the Timber Trades Journal, the London Hardwood Club, the Timber Trade Federation, the regional Timber Trade Associations, the Trussed Rafter Association, the Structural Timber Association, Radar Communications, the NPPD Dinner and the Plywood Luncheon Club who have given us financial support and the opportunity to speak directly to the senior industry representatives at their respective events.

Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your families and all your business colleagues, a very happy festive period and a healthy and successful 2017.

Ivan Savage
TTBS General Manager & National Vice President
www.ttbs.org.uk