Presentation of fridge and washing machine to new Niamh's Next Step charity shop, 
l-r Chris Curry (founder of Niamh's Next Step), Colin Dowell (area service manager), Robert Stedman and Darren Gidney ( technical service engineer). Whirlpool UK Applicances Ltd
Monday April 26th 2021

Whirlpool UK Service Engineers Support Northamptonshire Children’s Cancer Charity

A group of service engineers from Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited, the home of Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, is supporting Northamptonshire based charity Niamh’s Next Step (NNS).

NNS was established in 2012 by a family based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, following the death of their child Niamh, who sadly passed away after an 18 month battle with Neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that affects around 100 children each year in the UK, the majority of whom are under the age of five. Niamh’s family founded the charity to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for vital research, in addition to offering support to the family members of those suffering from the rare and aggressive form of cancer.

A group of Whirlpool UK service engineers that operate across the East Midlands area, including Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Oxford and Milton Keynes, reached out to NNS’s co-founder, Niamh’s father, Chris Curry in 2020 in an effort to support the charity. The group, led by Whirlpool UK Area Service Manager (Central Region) Colin Dowell, offered to donate appliances to NNS’s brand new charity shop, Niamh’s Boutique, which will be opening in Wellingborough this summer. Niamh’s Boutique will be selling new and preloved clothes, toys and bric-a-brac, in addition to signed memorabilia that has been donated to the charity by its patrons and other celebrities. The charity shop will also host regular tea and coffee mornings and other fundraising events to generate awareness and raise vital funds.

On Monday 26th April 2021, Colin and three of the engineers from his team, Rob Avery, Darren Gidney and Rob Stedman, delivered a Hotpoint freestanding 9 kg washing machine (NSWA 943C WW UK N) and a Hotpoint freestanding fridge (RLA36P.1) to Niamh’s boutique, both of which were donated by Whirlpool UK.

The Hotpoint freestanding 9 kg washing machine (NSWA 943C WW UK N) will enable volunteers from NNS to wash the clothes that are donated to Niamh’s Boutique, ensuring that they are cleaned to a high standard, before being sold. The washing machine boasts a handy Steam Hygiene feature, which injects steam directly into the drum at the end of the washing cycle, removing up to 99.9 per cent of the most common bacteria*. What’s more, the freestanding Hotpoint fridge (RLA36P.1) has been donated to provide support to the charity’s volunteers with somewhere to store their snacks and fresh food to sustain them during their time spent in-store.

In order to further support Niamh’s Next Step, Colin Dowell and his team of engineers aim to take part in a number of fundraising activities in the coming months to help raise money for the charity.

Colin Dowell, Area Service Manager (Central Region), Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited says: “My team and I are delighted to be supporting Niamh’s Next Step, a fantastic local charity that works tirelessly to increase awareness and fund vital research into Neuroblastoma. We hope our donations will assist the charity in opening Niamh’s Boutique, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of fundraising activities and events throughout the year.”

Ian Moverley, Public Affairs Director, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited says: “Whirlpool UK is committed to supporting charities and local initiatives that operate in communities across the country. We are incredibly proud that our East Midlands based service engineers have teamed up with Niamh’s Next Step, an outstanding charity that has been successful in funding vital research projects, in addition to raising awareness of the rare form of children’s cancer.”

For more information on Niamh’s Next Step and to make a donation, please visit the website at https://www.nns.org.uk/

Ends

Image captions:

  1. A group of Whirlpool UK service engineers is supporting Niamh’s Next Step, a children’s cancer charity based in Northamptonshire (Image courtesy of The Northants Telegraph)
  2. The Hotpoint freestanding 9 kg washing machine (NSWA 943C WW UK N) has been donated to Niamh’s Next Step

Notes for editors:

* Endorsed by Allergy UK

About Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited:

Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited is managed by Whirlpool EMEA, part of Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company.

Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited fully supports the AMDEA safety initiative, Register My Appliance, and is committed to encouraging householders to register their appliances: www.registermyappliance.org.uk

About Whirlpool Corporation:
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, with approximately $19 billion in annual sales, 78,000 employees and 57 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2020. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com.

For further press information and images please contact:

Steph at jmm PR

Tel: 01536 414555

Email: steph@jmmpr.co.uk

4th May 2021

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