BOB VOLUNTEERS MAKE CHRISTMAS WISH COME TRUE FOR BRICKLAYER’S FAMILY WHO HAVE ENDURED THREE YEARS WITH NO HEATING OR HOT WATER
A former bricklayer and his family can enjoy a warm home this Christmas for the first time in three years – after Band of Builders volunteers answered a plea for help and installed a new central heating system to replace the one that was condemned and ripped out in 2020.
Lee Taverner, his partner Wendy Norton and 12-year-old son Marshall have lived in freezing conditions for the last three winters – because they couldn’t afford to replace the boiler and radiators after Lee had to give up work when he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This disease can be traced back to when he spent three weeks in a coma with pneumonia during the COVID pandemic.
The family were at their wits’ end before five volunteers installed the new central heating system (which was donated by Wolseley Group) at the family’s Leighton Buzzard home just in time for Christmas.
Turning on the heating and feeling their house warm up for the first time since lockdown was an overwhelming experience for the family.
Lee said: “Having a warm home is going to be a life-changer for my family and we cannot thank Band of Builders enough for what they have done for us.
Wendy added: “The first thing I’m going to do is to take a nice long hot bath.”
Lee’s story
Lee Taverner laid his first brick at just 13 years old under the watchful eye of his dad, who was also a brickie. Upon leaving school, Lee worked with his dad for nigh on 30 years, until his dad retired and Lee continued in the trade.
When the global pandemic struck in 2020, Lee took the opportunity to do some work on his kitchen – only to find that his central heating boiler needed to be condemned and removed, along with the downstairs radiators, leaving the family home without heating or hot water. Around the same time, he caught COVID and was in a coma for three weeks with pneumonia.
The 54-year-old is a fighter and he pulled through – and although he returned to work, he hasn’t been the same since and has struggled with his breathing. The housebuilder that he worked with has been good about the fact that since having COVID, he’s had to have some time off.
Eighteen months ago, he was finally diagnosed with COPD – a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties that include emphysema (damage to the air sacs in the lungs) and chronic bronchitis (long-term inflammation of the airways).
Lee is now unable to work and requires oxygen at home.
BoB completes 42nd project
This is the 42nd project completed by BoB and volunteers install a new boiler, six new radiators and a heated towel rail on a Saturday in the run-up to Christmas.
Wolseley Group sponsored this project and Area Manager, Mark Harris, said: “We are proud that we were able to play our part in making this project happen and helping Lee and his family this Christmas. Scott Oliver and his team at Luton Plumb Centre pulled out all the stops to source and deliver the products to a tight deadline so a big thank you for all their support in making a difference in our local community”.
BoB’s Project Lead, Andrew Pell, praised the team of volunteers and said: “I can’t thank the team of volunteers enough for giving up their time – which they could have spent with their families in the run-up to Christmas – to help a fellow tradesperson and his family who were in desperate need,” he said.
“We are all proud to be part of a charity that supports members of the construction industry and their families – and the look on the family’s faces when we turned on the central heating system will stay with me for a long time to come.”