Stevenage 75th anniversary magazine | biz4Biz - Magazine - Page 55
Austin’s
AUSTIN’S FAMILY FUNERAL DIRECTORS
2021 seems to have flown by. After the
loss and grief of 2020, this year has had
its fair share of difficulties. But, just as
we did last year, we’ve all pulled together
and negotiated our way through another
uncertain year, with lots to celebrate as
well.
We started the year with Harwood Park
being able to donate £10,000 to the Isabel
Hospice, through a charitable scheme
operated by the Institute of Cemetery
and Crematorium Management. We
presented the hospice with a giant
cheque in January, knowing just how
hard charities have been hit during the
pandemic with their fundraising efforts
limited by restrictions. Meanwhile, the
team were hard at work taking in your
real Christmas trees to recycle and do
our bit for the environment.
With another national lockdown in
force, we joined the Heart FM tech
appeal. Many families were struggling
to provide their children with the
technology they needed to continue
their studies during the lockdown, so we
asked you to dig out those old laptops
and tablets and drop them into one of
our branches or to Harwood Park. On a
similar theme, we were also very pleased
to get involved with the ‘Give a Future’
campaign with North Hertfordshire
College .
In February we announced our charity
of the year; the Essex and Herts Air
Ambulance. We’re looking forward to
bringing you more information on how
much we have raised for them in the new
Letchmore Road, StevENAGE
(Now HEAD OFFICE))
Austin’s Horse-drawn Hearse 1902
year, so watch this space.
We also announced ‘Lydia Day’, which
is our initiative to give all of our staff
a complimentary day’s leave on their
birthday to show our appreciation for
their hard work and support. We had two
members of staff leave us this year after
many years of loyal service: our Funeral
Administrator at our Welwyn branch,
Stephanie Lawrence retired after 14
years with us, as did Funeral Operations
Manager, Alan Coleman, after 19 years, a
key member of our Senior Management
Team.
As spring finally arrived and we headed
towards Easter we once again had the
popular ‘Charlie Chicks’ on sale for
Garden House Hospice, which are knitted
by local ladies and contain a chocolate
Easter egg. Easter also marked the
opening of our new Funeral Arrangement
Office in Hoddesdon where bereaved
families would be guided and cared for by
our experienced Funeral Administrator,
Tina Williams.
As the lockdown lifted we were pleased
to be able to sponsor, alongside Waitrose,
the updated activity maps for Welwyn
Garden City. A great resource especially
with so many people looking for different
walks and cycle routes while we couldn’t
travel further afield.
On 3rd May we had some very welcome
news as the government announced for
the first time in over a year that there
would no longer be a limit on the number
of people at funerals. At the same time,
we also acquired premises in Harpenden,
which have been in the process of being
refurbished this year.
With the better weather we saw lots
of visitors to our Memorial Gardens
at Harwood Park and in August we
launched our interactive map. If you
haven’t seen it yet, take a look. If you
scroll over the numbers and names on
the map, images of the gardens will be
revealed.
At the end of the month we were
delighted to see our sponsored Stevenage
Borough Under 12’s squad play their
first match of the season sporting their
new Austin’s strip. A couple of weeks
later we sponsored the ‘Excellence in
Customer Commitment’ finalists at the
Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce
awards.
In November we were over the moon to
see that the Stevenage Community Trust
raised a huge £36,500 from their Dinner
Dance , which we proudly hosted on
their behalf. The Trust is an independent
charity that provides funding and support
to charitable organisations and people in
need.
Now all that is left is to remember
how much stronger we are when we’re
together. Here’s to 2022!
w w w. s t e v e n a g e - e v e n - b e t t e r . c o m
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