Wood Street Heroes – Kuits

How did you come to support Wood Street Mission?

Kuits has been serving the needs of individuals and businesses in Manchester for over 100 years. As part of that, Kuits embraces the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and recognises it as an integral part of our firm ethos.

For us, it means supporting our local community. Through the work of our Community Involvement Team, the firm encourages its people to play an active role in helping the Manchester community, allowing many to use their skills and experiences to help others and fundraise for local causes.

Being able to support a charity which provides help to families in the local area with items that many of us take for granted is an honour.

What did you do to support us?

In 2022, 26 members of Kuits ran the Manchester 10k or half marathon, cheered on by family, friends and colleagues and raised over £7,000, which supported the Wood Street Mission’s Smart Start School uniform project.

Kuits is known for its strong personality and family culture, as well as tremendous community involvement and commitment to charity, and after the absence of the Great Manchester Run in 2021 we were delighted, with record participant numbers, to hit the streets of Manchester once again in aid of a brilliant cause.

You have continued to support Wood Street for a number of years now, does that continuity help your support?

Wood Street Mission and the work they do constantly inspires us. The work done has helped bring a focus to our fundraising and allowed us to work consistently with an established and worthy partner.

What is the most fun or rewarding part of supporting Wood Street?

Not only does Wood Street work tirelessly to support families but it is also dedicated to its supporters and what they do. The culture, morals and core values of Wood Street very much mirror that of Kuits. Wood Street create numerous ways and opportunities to get involved with the mission and support their work. From abseils, runs and quizzes to book appeals, Christmas wish lists and school uniform collections, the variety offers something for everyone. At Kuits, we have found it a great way to build upon our culture and boost morale, whilst supporting a local charity. Receiving feedback from families via Wood Street is rewarding and makes the efforts put in, even more worthwhile.

How did you get your team involved with supporting us?

Kuits has supported Wood Street Mission for over 15 years. We were drawn to the locality of the charity, the nature of the work and the values which underpin the charity.

There are some overwhelming statistics about the number of children living in poverty in Manchester and Salford – almost 65,000 children in these 2 cities alone. What would you say to someone who wanted to make a difference with this issue?

However small the donation or however little time you can offer, every penny and every minute makes a huge difference to local families who find themselves struggling with the things that many of us take for granted.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about supporting Wood Street?

Get in touch, get involved and make the most of the opportunities Wood Street offer, which can be rewarding to both supporters and families in the local area. Visiting Wood Street Mission and learning about its history is a good way to start your journey as a supporter.