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Member stories during COIVID-19

AsIAm

AsIAm is Ireland’s National Autism Charity founded by Adam Harris. They undertake a range of activities to support the autism community, this includes supporting businesses to become accessible for the 1 in 65 people in Ireland who are autistic. When COVID-19 first struck, it was a major blow. Autistic people rely on predictability, which was totally lost. Simultaneously, vital support services were closed. AsIAm’s income is linked to providing in-person training and this looked set to be wiped out. Overtime, as they had to cancel or curtail fundraising plans, they saw a 280% increase in queries to their service from families who were struggling during the lockdown.

Founder & CEO, Adam Harris (pictured above) said; “The generosity of donors was key to our survival. It helped us expand our services to meet an unprecedented need. We put our training and accreditation programmes online, which allowed us to continue to support organisations who want to ensure that their jobs, products and services are open to some 372,000 in Ireland who are autistic or have immediate autistic family members. We have created a COVID-19 support page and online support seminar series for parents and members of the autistic community.” AsIAm believe that the period ahead is an opportunity. COVID-19 has shown that the world does not have to work the way it used to and has opened our minds to more inclusive ways of working. Businesses who wish to thrive into the future, will have to be able to recruit the very best people and provide their offering to a diverse society. AsIAm can provide a range of supports which can help businesses to gain the competitive edge including: • Weekly Lunch & Learn Events • Monthly Autism-Friendly Employment Masterclass with IrishJobs.ie • Bespoke Autism-Friendly Training • Autism-Friendly Accreditation • Corporate partnerships with leading brands including SuperValu and Vodafone. To find out more and to make an enquiry visit AsIAm.ie

Lennox

An indigenous Irish company with a proud 100-year history, ISME Member, Lennox delivers scientific, manufacturing, production and laboratory solutions nationwide. They have seen a lot of change over the years, but COVID-19 brought swift and immense challenges for their customers. In March 2020, demand for PPE products, previously a small part of their offering, immediately soared. They quickly pivoted from supplying mainly pharmaceutical companies and laboratories to meet the increased demand from sectors that would never have needed PPE before – everyone from schools and law firms to accountants and IT companies. Their CEO Leslie Brett points to their market insights, which ensured that we were ahead of the curve when it came to procuring high quality products quickly: “There was initially a shortage of products, but our dedicated team leveraged and shortened our existing global supply chains. To ensure our customers had what they needed, we tripled the number of people working on PPE in response to the increased demand. We also increased the capacity of our nationwide delivery fleet.” They have since also introduced additional key products for their customers to aid in the fight against COVID-19, from antigen tests and CO2 monitors to Ultra-V high intensity UV-C sterilisation robots. Maintaining the highest level of customer service has always been a priority for Lennox and they are proud to have worked closely with their customers through the pandemic, maintaining their peace-of mind and ensuring they had what they needed to stay safe. Contact Padraig Callan (photo below) at padraig.callan@lennox.ie or visit www.lennox.ie.