Blog

Making a Change Together

This year, Flatfish has gone from strength to strength, supplying the nation with fish and launching a range of own-brand products. Our hometown of Grimsby has shown so much character and resilience in these uncertain economic times. Many of our locals live below the poverty line. 1 in 3 children live in poverty, and the local food bank has seen a 120% increase in demand from the start of the pandemic.

Lovely Sunset over Sunflower Field

We want to give back and help to get our community on its feet again. To do this, we are working to create The Flatfish Foundation. The Foundation will raise money for a different local charity each year to help those in need. Although we are still developing our Foundation, we wanted to hit the ground running and have chosen our 2021 charity. Our CEO Steve has long been a supporter of the charity, so we felt it was fitting they should be our first.

Sunflowers Children’s Action Group (visit their website here) is a local charity that supports families who have a child or children suffering from life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. It’s a volunteer-run charity that creates special, inclusive events for sick children and their families to bring a bit of joy to otherwise challenging lives. The illnesses that the children suffer from vary but ultimately have the same effect on the children. They lose out on events and special occasions, often to undergo painful and complicated medical procedures. They miss out on school and other “normal” activities they see their friends taking part in, leaving the children feeling isolated and “different”. Sunflowers ensure the children have the opportunity to celebrate and have fun, showing them life is more than a hospital room. They are bringing back a little bit of normality and happiness into these brave and wonderful children’s lives.

During COVID and the lockdowns, many families have found the support net that once kept them afloat has been ripped away due to new restrictions, leaving them alone at a crucial moment when their children are more at risk than ever. Sunflowers have provided vital support during this time when many of the children, who already had interrupted lives, were told to isolate, taking away what little freedom they had. They have sent boxes of toys and activities for them to enjoy from their homes and “boredom buster” sessions for families in the form of zoom parties, quizzes, fairy-tale reading sessions, and more.

This year, we took part in an Easter Appeal where Steve dressed up as Flossy the Easter bunny ( see him in action here) and delivered boxes of Easter activities and goodies to the children’s doors. Steve also plans to do a firewalk and the London Dock2Dock 10km swim at the end of the summer. We have continuously raised money for this fantastic charity and hope to reach our goal of £20,000 by the end of the year. We have achieved 43% of this target. This money will make a massive difference to the charity and allow more events to go ahead. 

This charity goes above and beyond to bring joy into the lives of children and families who have endured hardships like many of us, thankfully, have never experienced. We’d be very grateful if you could join us in supporting this fantastic charity. Click here to go to our fundraising page and donate!

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Martha Boardman