Local charity Blythswood Care received a welcome boost in the run up to Christmas following a £370,000 investment from Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT).

Harry Latimer, General Manager, Blythswood Care with Trudi Dunbar, Marketing Executive, UCIT

Blythswood Care, which offers help to those in need across Europe, Africa and Asia, has used the funding towards the purchase of its headquarters in Ballyclare which now houses one of the charity’s shops, its warehouse and distribution centre.  As well as facilitating Blythswood’s charity shop, the profits of which help finance aid projects at home and abroad, the headquarters are also an essential part of the annual Christmas Shoebox appeal, which last year alone saw a total of 118,000 filled shoeboxes sent to those most in need in Eastern Europe and Pakistan.

Commenting on the funding, Harry Latimer, General Manager at Blythswood Care said:

“The work carried out by Blythswood Care makes an immense difference to the lives of people across the world and there is no greater time that this is seen than at Christmas.  Our annual shoebox appeal is a key part of our work, but to ensure that we reach those in need on a global level, we need an effective and efficient local operation.  The funding from UCIT has allowed us to do this through the purchase of a central headquarters in Ballyclare that we now operate all our local initiatives from. This in turn makes for the better running of the charity and allows us to focus on providing help to those that need it most.”

Originally launched in 2001 in response to decreasing grant support, UCIT has now evolved into a specialist provider of loans and support to charities, community organisations and social enterprises across Northern Ireland, investing over £30 million locally in the last ten years.   

Jonathan McAlpin, Director of Operations at UCIT said:

“Blythswood Care is a leading example of how UCIT funding can be used to make a positive impact on a local community organisation and allow it to continue its work providing help to those in need. Community organisations across Northern Ireland are finding it increasingly difficult to access commercial loan facilities which, when coupled with the current economic climate, puts the future of many in serious doubt. As the largest provider of social finance in Northern Ireland, UCIT is on hand to support those organisations that banks and other financial institutions will not readily assist, and over the last ten years we have provided finance to hundreds of community organisations like Blythswood Care, allowing them to continue to operate as well as creating wealth and employment in local areas.”