Drax raises money for The Steve Prescott Foundation

Drax has given £3,700 from a safety scheme involving staff andcontractors at the power station to The Steve Prescott Foundation,founded in 2008 by the ex Hull and St Helen’s player after he wasdiagnosed with Pseudomyxoma Peritonei a rare form of stomachcancer.

It supports two organisations close to Steve’s own heart – TheChristie Cancer Hospital in Manchester, where Steve is currentlyreceiving his own treatment and Try Assist, previously known as TheRugby League Benevolent Fund, which aims to support players whoselives are affected by serious injuries while playing the game.

“We are very grateful and would like to thank Drax very muchindeed for their donation,” said Martin Blondel, Secretary of TheSteve Prescott Foundation. “Raising funds for charity is alwayshard, so to have the local business community’s support is mostwelcome.”

The money was raised during this year’s outage, which is when asingle generating unit is shut down to allow for inspection,renewal and maintenance work. During each outage, Drax operates ascheme which focuses on health and safety performance at the PowerStation, with the added motivation that £500 is donated by thecompany for every week in which any accidents require no more thanbasic first aid treatment.

This year, the scheme raised £7,400, split equally betweenWillow’s Wish chosen by Drax staff and The Steve PrescottFoundation, a charity in Hull, which was selected by Draxcontractors.

Peter Emery, production director at Drax said: “During outageperiods we have around 1,500 employees and contractors workingtogether on site carrying out a broad range of engineering andcrafts skills.

“Safety at work is always a top priority at Drax, but duringoutages the sheer logistics of the exercise and the number ofpeople involved mean that we have to focus very hard on safeworking practices.

“The initiative we put in place continues to be successful, andit shows a real commitment to safety all the way through theorganisation, with the added benefit of helping two very worthwhilecauses.”

For more information, please contact:

Melanie Wedgbury/Rachael Hudson
Drax Power 01757 618381

Sam Addie/Richard Harrison
Imagen PR 01943 468778