Community Relations

Throughout our business, the secret of S&U's success lies in the close ties it has with its customers. It's therefore natural for this to translate into links with the local communities we serve. That is why, both through direct sponsorship and through the Keith Coombs Trust, we at S&U support charities, generally for young people.

Our aim is, wherever possible, to help youngsters find the means and motivation to help themselves. That might mean providing them with equipment like wheelchairs, specialist therapy, like conductive education or simply the opportunity to stand on their own feet and structure their lives, through the Emily Jordan Foundation. These range from support for children with disabilities through the National Institute for Conductive Education where Anthony and Graham Coombs serve as trustees to providing scholarships for aspiring and talented young choreographers and designers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Ballet Now programme.

More important of all, our work gives S&U staff the opportunity to do their bit for local good causes too. These have ranged from donating over 1500 items to their Christmas Collection drive and supporting Macmillan, Not Home Alone and Andy's Man Club.

Good business means doing good and we never forget it. Below are a few examples of our work:

Marie Curie

Trulli

With the support of The Keith Coombs Trust, who paid for a day of care at the Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands – our patients, their families, carers and loved ones received the vital care and support they needed, on 10th January 2024.

Throughout the pandemic, one of the most challenging periods that the hospice has faced, our nurses, doctors and hospice team at Marie Curie have continued to provide expert clinical and practical care, in a calm and comfortable environment, while providing holistic support for people diagnosed with a terminal illness, to live well for as long as possible. Even in the most complex of cases, we offer expert care, emotional support, pain management, and reliable information to dying people and their loved ones, when people are at one of the most vulnerable times of their lives.

“With our supporters, like The Keith Coombs Trust, by our side, we have been able to reintroduce some of our vital day services which closed over the pandemic, such as our Motor Neurone Disease Support Group, exercise classes, our Fatigue Anxiety and Breathlessness Clinics, Art Therapy, Child Bereavement Sessions and complimentary therapies.

With this type of support, patients and their loved ones can appreciate the benefits of earlier introduction to the hospice and other specialist services, and they can learn to manage their emotional and physical symptoms, which would otherwise have a significant negative impact on their quality of life. We couldn’t do this without such compassionate and generous supporters, like The Keith Coombs Trust.”

Shannon Haggerty, Marie Curie

NICE - Centre for Movement Disorders

NICE is a unique charity, based in Birmingham, who offer specialised education and therapy to children and adults with neurological disabilities through the system of Conductive Education (CE). CE originated in Hungary and in 1986 our charity was formed to make this system available to families in the UK. Over the past 35 years we have worked with over 9,000 people all living with long term conditions such as cerebral palsy, stroke, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis. Our free and subsidised services are heavily reliant on charitable funding and through the amazing support of S&U, Aspen Bridging and The Keith Coombs Trust we have been able to continue to offer a vital life line to our families.

We are immensely grateful for the support we receive through a combination of sponsorship of events, donations to support our direct services, attending events and professional expertise from Anthony and Graham as Trustees. To have supporters who understand the needs of our families and go above and beyond to help them makes this relationship very special. From all our families we would like to thank you all for your support throughout our journey.

The Emily Jordan Foundation

The Emily Jordan Foundation supports people with learning disabilities to develop skills to enable those that can to be able to enter the workplace. It also supplies a great days experience for people with more complex needs.

Its aim is:

To enable people with learning disabilities to lead fulfilled lives.

"The support that we have received from the Keith Coombs Trust has been extremely useful in the development of two of our projects at our Brinton's Park site. It has enabled us to start our Pots, pottery project for people with learning disabilities and has also helped to fund a new building for the people who come along to our Twigs project to be able to take a break.

The new funding support from the Trust will now do the same at our new project in the Black Country. The monies will be spent on the purchase of a timber building where people with learning disabilities will learn new horticulture skills and be able to shelter in bad weather. We are extremely grateful for this - thank you! "

Chris Jordan, Chair of the Trustees of The Emily Jordan Foundation

Whizz Kids

The Keith Coombs Trust is proud to support Whizz-Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users, in providing high quality wheelchairs and other mobility equipment for children and young people who aren’t getting a wheelchair that fully meets their needs through their local services.

For a young person, having the wrong wheelchair can lead to dependence on others, social isolation, poor mental health, pain and injury. Without the ability to be independent young wheelchair users are restricted in their chances to socialise and participate in society.

The Trust majors on providing funds for families in the Midlands and for specific items of equipment. We have funded equipment for children like Isabella, whose father said her wheelchair had “a profound effect in improving Isabella’s quality of life”, not only for the youngsters involved but for their whole family tree.