30 Mar 2025 Community

Cummins Colleagues Clock Up 382 Volunteering Hours for The Kirkwood in 2024

Cummins has long been a proud supporter of The Kirkwood, encouraging its employees to give back to the community by using their "Making a Difference" days to volunteer. In 2024, this commitment was more evident than ever, with an incredible 89 Cummins colleagues dedicating a total of 382 hours to supporting The Kirkwood through volunteering efforts.

From assisting in The Kirkwood’s charity shops to maintaining the award winning hospice garden, Cummins employees have played a vital role in helping the organisation continue its essential work. Their contribution also extended to new initiatives such as supporting The Kirkwood’s Ebay donation centre in Mirfield and lending a hand with the Christmas Tree Recycling Campaign at the end of the year.

Michelle Duck, the Huddersfield Community Involvement Team Leader at Cummins shared her pride in the company’s continued support: “Cummins are proud of the impact our employees make in our community. Cummins’ goal is to build more prosperous communities, and through our Every Employee Every Community initiative, our employees can use their skills, knowledge, and time to make a difference in their local communities. The Kirkwood does an amazing job working to improve the care of everyone in Kirklees with a life-limiting illness, and through our partnership, our employees can make a real difference, from volunteering in the charity shops to helping to maintain the award winning garden at the hospice.”

Many Cummins employees have personal connections to The Kirkwood, having experienced its care for friends or family members. This personal link makes volunteering a particularly meaningful experience: “Many of our employees have a connection to The Kirkwood and may have used their services to care for a friend or family member, so volunteering at The Kirkwood is a popular choice for Cummins employees. Not only do they meet new people, work as a team, and gain new experiences, but it is also fun. Our employees feel that they can give something back to improving the quality of life for people in Kirklees and make a difference to the running of the services that The Kirkwood offers.”

Reflecting on the impact of the partnership, the representative continued: “Cummins have partnered with The Kirkwood for a number of years, and in 2024, 89 Cummins employees completed an amazing 382 hours of volunteering with The Kirkwood, through working in their charity shops and gardening at the hospice building in Dalton. Cummins employees have a great enthusiasm for The Kirkwood, and we look forward to continuing to support The Kirkwood in 2025.”

The Kirkwood has relied on volunteers for nearly four decades, and the support from Cummins has been invaluable. Beverley Shaw, Business Movement Development Manager with The Kirkwood, expressed her gratitude for Cummins’ ongoing commitment.

She said: “Cummins Turbo Technologies lead the way in gifting The Kirkwood vital volunteering resources throughout the year and encouraging their employees to make a difference in our community.”

Beverley also highlighted the opportunity to engage directly with Cummins employees at a recent event: “I attended a Community Partner Event prior to Christmas, and this provided a first hand opportunity to thank existing volunteers but also engage with some colleagues and share the variety of volunteering opportunities that The Kirkwood can provide.”

The Kirkwood continues to expand its volunteering opportunities, ensuring that companies like Cummins can get involved in multiple ways.

“Towards the end of last year and as we entered 2025, we were grateful to extend our volunteering opportunities to their teams, to include supporting us at our Ebay donation centre in Mirfield and also supporting us for a number of days as part of the Christmas Tree Recycling Campaign.”

With dedicated supporters like Cummins, The Kirkwood can continue its mission of caring for those in Kirklees with life limiting illnesses. Beverley concluded: “The Kirkwood has relied upon volunteers for nearly four decades, and we are delighted and thrilled to have the ongoing support from a major employer in the area.”

As The Kirkwood looks ahead to another year of volunteer support, it hopes Cummins’ inspiring efforts will encourage other local businesses to step forward and make a difference in their community.