2018 was a significant year for global earthmoving attachment supplier Miller UK as they celebrated 40 years in business. To honour this occasion they decided to raise money for a local North East charity, Daft as a Brush.
Employees at the family-owned Cramlington-headquartered business voted to raise money throughout 2018 for Daft as a Brush, which offers people who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy cancer treatment across the north of England free transport to and from hospital.
For the Miller family, this is also a charity very close to their heart as they sadly lost a family friend, Joe Brown to cancer last year. Joe grew up with the Miller family and their friendship goes way back more than 40 years, when Keith first founded his welding business, Miller UK. Joe would help to fix Keith’s welding kits in the back of his van as he was a qualified electrician and the friendship grew from there. Further down the line, Joe’s son began working at Miller UK, initially as an apprentice and eventually into a management role where he stayed with the company for 13 years.
Joe was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in in 2016 and it was when Keith visited Joe in hospital that he mentioned the important services that Daft as a Brush had offered him. Joe used the free transport provided by Daft as a Brush so he could receive treatment at the Freeman hospital. The Daft as a Brush volunteers would not only drive Joe to hospital but also stay with him until the treatment was finished, offering support and throughout each hospital visit. Since Joe passed away last year, his wife Sheila Brown has continued to support the local charity.
The staff at Miller have been determined to raise as much money as possible for Daft as a Brush and for every pound that they have managed to raise, Miller UK have matched it with a company donation. Throughout the year, the entire team have taken part in a range of fundraising activities including cake bakes, raffles, craft and sporting/activity related challenges.
Through these fundraising events and challenges taken on by members of staff the donations have been totted up and a cheque for the amount of an incredible £3,522.08 has now been presented to Daft as a Brush.
Keith Miller, chairman of earthmoving attachments manufacturer Miller UK said, “We have had a fantastic response to all of our charity events. It’s something that is very close to my heart; work hard, play hard and give something back. We chose to support the local cancer charity Daft as a Brush throughout the year and we have done some charity based events internally. Not only is it for a great cause but it’s been really good for team moral.”
Daft as a Brush was founded by Brian Burnie, who is currently walking 7,000 miles around the entire coastal path of Great Britain and Ireland to bring free cancer patient transport nationwide. His dream is to create 1,000,000 high-quality journeys for outpatients requiring radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, free of charge. Following World Cancer Day which was on the 4thFebruary, Brian has taken a short break to visit the Gosforth-based charity.
“We are extremely grateful to Miller UK and their incredible team for choosing to support Daft as a Brush. The amount raised for Daft as a Brush will go a long way towards helping patients across the region with transport whist undergoing treatment”, said Brian Burnie, founder of Daft as a Brush.
Daft as a Brush cancer patient care offers staffed, custom-made vehicles to transport outpatients in the region who are undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy cancer treatment to and from hospital, free-of-charge.The service involves collecting and transporting the patients in a safe and comfortable environment, from where they are living, taking them to where they will be having their treatment.
