Through the delivery of various projects for local clients, McAdam began to be actively informed of some of the wider social/environmental issues in areas of the local community and in 2021 we made the commitment to become a more responsible, community-focussed business.
The main schemes that we are currently working with are Live Here Love Here and the Lagan Dragons, detailed below, but we also regularly participate in charity events, such as Food Drive for local food banks, Mental Health Awareness Week raising money for Suicide Awareness charities and making annual donations to charities within areas we are undertaking projects and working with the Woodland Trust in their tree planting initiatives.
During 2021 alone we donated over £50,000 to local schemes and staff undertook 500+ hours of volunteer work.
Lagan Dragons (LD) is Northern Ireland's first ever Dragon Boat club of paddlers affected by breast cancer. The club recently acquired a Boat Yard on Stranmillis Embankment but it was heavily overgrown and unsafe for members, so we offered to help. In just a few months we achieved the following:
Throughout we met regularly with LD to identify their needs and plan the regeneration.
The site has been totally transformed to a secure site enabling the club to safely enjoy their sport and to accept many more members. The Boat Club was officially opened by DfI Minister Nicola Mallon in November 2021.
On scheme completion LD’s Chairwoman, Jenny Colmer, said: “We were totally blown away by your generosity. What a massive massive difference you made! It was barely habitable or safe until you guys took over so to have our very own home is just fantastic.”
We feel our Community Investment activities with Live Here Love Here (LHLH) and Lagan Dragons (LD) in particular, have reinforced our brand and show our staff, clients, partners and wider public that we are committed to the social and environmental wellbeing of our communities.
