Sutherland social enterprise celebrates 30 years of supporting the community
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A Highland social enterprise is celebrating 30 years of providing home improvement, electrical recycling, and retail services to the north of Scotland.
ILM Highland is committed to supporting vulnerable people to remain at home. Its charitable services deliver home improvement activities to enable elderly and disabled residents in Ross-shire and Sutherland to stay living at home independently and safely for longer.
It also generates income from selling new and refurbished electrical goods in its Alness shop and online, as well as delivering a waste electrical recycling service for all businesses across the region.
Any profit it makes from its income-generating services is reinvested in the company to help fund the charitable services.
Martin Macleod, chief executive at ILM Highland said: “Our passion for supporting communities is due to our roots being embedded in the local area, providing employment and training for local people, and to provide services that help the Highland community, economy, and environment.
“As a social enterprise, we are committed to having a positive social and environmental impact, making people’s lives and our home better now and into the future.
“We are incredibly proud of our achievements and would like to thank everyone who has supported us. We look forward to many more years of providing valuable services to local people, helping to make Highland an even better place to live, work, and play.”
To celebrate three decades of supporting people, delivering valuable services, and protecting the environment, ILM Highland has a series of anniversary events and special offers running through April.
It will be hosting a celebration event for staff, a VIP event for board members and stakeholders, and an open day to the public on Saturday, April 27, in Alness, with free activities for children and families.
On top of this, from April 22, ILM Highland will have 10 per cent off all new and refurbished electrical items in its shop instore and online.
The same week, it will be accepting electrical waste from businesses free of charge at its base in Alness. CRTs and refrigeration are excluded and will still be charged.
Martin added: “We want to shout out about our key achievements and to encourage people to use our services, especially to buy their electrical goods from us as all profit we make is reinvested to support local vulnerable people through our charitable services.”
There have been some particular milestones at ILM Highland over the last 30 years, including assisting nearly 47,000 people with its handy person service and completing 124,820 jobs.
Throughout Sutherland and Ross-shire, 5453 projects were completed by the care and repair team. Over 20 years, the Telecare department has been running, it has also completed approximately 36,780 Telecare visits, assisting on average 55,170 people with Telecare equipment.
On top of this, the total tonnage of electrical waste collected over the past 14 years is 31,903 tonnes.
Martin said: “Our secret to 30 years in business is to always look for opportunities to make a positive difference. To ensure that we have the necessary resources to deliver our services, and that we strive to do our very best in all that we offer.
“ILM usually goes above and beyond the call of duty; however, we are very proud of that. We love receiving thanks and gratitude from our many clients and customers about how we have helped them. It demonstrates that we are doing things right and that it is appreciated.
“While times have been tough, and the world of business is possibly more precarious today than it has ever been, knowing that our services are helping both people and planet gives us the motivation to carry on and the energy to continue in our quest for success no matter the challenges that lie ahead.”
Milestones & Achievements
• Delivered/uplifted around 3,912 pieces of NHS equipment
• Completed approximately 36,780 Telecare visits, assisting on average 55,170 people with Telecare equipment, and allocated/collected/ tested 121,100 pieces of equipment
• For the seven years the Veteran’s Handyperson service has been operating ILM Highland has received approximately 714 referrals, assisted 812 beneficiaries, and completed 9,310 jobs.
• 3257 care and repair projects in Ross-Shire and Wester Ross
• 2196 care and repair projects in Sutherland
• 8179 people being assisted by the care and repair service
• 31,903 tonnes of electrical waste collected over the past 14 years
• 827 tonnes of reuse achieved equating to 16,233 units undergone reuse and refurbishment
• 13,590 households helped through reuse and refurbishment of white goods, with over £2.5 million household savings and 525 tonnes of CO2 savings
