A Sutton-based textile and wallcovering business has made grants worth a total of £18,000 to three charities.

The 2025 Romo Community Fund invited a shortlist of six charities to its head office to meet a staff panel and explain the local projects they needed support for.

With the help of Forever Notts, the panel decided to share the £18,000 fund between three charitable organisations — Gardens of Giving (£1,730) and SHE UK (£7,270), based in Mansfield, and The Social Action Hub (£9,000) in Rainworth.

The company is also looking to support each organisation in other ways through sharing skills, volunteering or workplace mentoring.

Senior export customer service co-ordinator Magdalena Oszywa, a Romo employee who was part of the panel, said: “The task of choosing charities from this year’s list was a very tough one.

“It broke my heart to listen about children grieving for their lost loved ones, parents who lost their children prematurely, or about surviving sexual abuse. It was the last of these that moved everyone on the panel.

“SHE UK delivered such a powerful presentation that we all voted unanimously to grant support to the charity.

“Our second choice was Gardens of Giving. The project uses waste timber to build planters that are then donated to different community groups to grow their own vegetables — a wonderful idea that links so many local groups together and has so many benefits.

“The third charity that will benefit from this year’s fund is The Social Action Hub, with the money awarded for its Career Action Plus project to support young people getting into further education and employment.

“I look forward to seeing how Romo grants make a difference to various communities in the local area.”
Gardens of Giving will use its funding to pay for children’s trowels and planting kits, compost bags, plant pots, food pellets, and seeds.

SHE UK, which aims to improve the lives of survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence, and rape through a range of specialist support services that empower survivors to take back control of their lives, will put its money towards the cost of a qualified therapist.

The Social Action Hub, which has won awards for its foodbank and social supermarket, also provides playschemes, youth clubs, counselling and mentoring, and employability support for young adults.

It will use the funding on its Career Action Plus project that targets people aged 16 to 24 who are unemployed and facing barriers to accessing education and employment opportunities. However, the hub will support people of any age who ask for support.

The hub provides support to young adults with low self-confidence/skills, disability, mental health problems or chaotic home life situations with few positive support networks, enabling them to move into work or further education.

Pictured at the presentation of three cheques from the ROMO Community Fund are, from left, Magda Oszywa and Angie Tomblin, of Romo; Lisa Lenton, manager of SHE UK; Felicity Mould, director of people, culture and communications at Romo; Claire Penny, of The Social Action Hub; Jason Darrington, of Romo; Sarah Armson, Gardens of Giving manager; and Mel Dennell, of Romo.