Half a million pounds donated to local charities by Bakers

Labels, packaging, and materials manufacturer Bakers has announced that it has recently hit half a million pounds in charity donations to local causes.

Summer donations distributed by the Bakers Foundation, the charitable arm of the business, totalled £62,000 in August of this year, following a further £44,000 in Easter donations. Along with several other ad hoc donations throughout the year, this brings the 2024 total alone to £151,310.

Speaking of the milestone, Steve Baker, managing director at Bakers, says: “I am immensely proud that we are in a position to be able to continually support charities in our community. It is really important to me that the legacy of the Bakers Foundation will continue to do good for as long as the company maintains success.”

The family-owned business was founded by Steve Baker’s parents, Roy and Marian Baker, at Vale Royle in 1973. Steve’s sons, Harry and Tom Baker, now also work at the company. In 2011, the company moved to a purpose-built factory in Brentwood, Essex.

Earlier this year, Baker Labels, the label printing arm of the business, completed two successful deals at drupa 2024 in order to continue the expansion of its business, investing in both a Durst TAU 340 and a HP Indigo 200k press.

Charities supported by donations from the company include Wipe Away Those Tears, a charity that aims to grant a wish for terminally or seriously ill children in Essex.

Speaking of one of the children the support from Bakers has helped, trustee of the charity Gail O’Shea explains: “Finley had a brain injury and he was starved of oxygen, which now leads to him having cerebral palsy. Finley is currently two years old and he does not stand or walk.

“Thanks to donations from the Bakers Foundation, Wipe Away Those Tears [was] able to fund a course of physiotherapy for Finley.”  

Another charity supported is Hopefield Animal Sanctuary, the largest sanctuary in Essex which has been rescuing animals since 1983.

Carole Grovers, a fundraiser at the sanctuary, says of the support: “This donation will go a long way towards our basic running costs such as animal feed, veterinary fees, and maintaining animal enclosures.”