Ben marks new chapter in motor charity's history

Motor industry charity Ben is marking its 120th birthday this month with a public reiterance that it is here to support the wellbeing of anyone in the UK's automotive sector.

And it has big ambitions: to treble the number of people it helps, to greatly increase its awareness within the automotive community, and to ramp up its fundraising.

To mark a new chapter in Ben's existence, and to introduce its senior leadership team and its vision for the future, it invited almost 200 industry executives and Ben supporters to a special event this week.

Ben is in the process of divesting of its retirement village and care homes, which it has operated for decades, in order for it to reinvest the funds raised and focus even more on the daily health and wellbeing of more people directly connected to the motor industry.

At the heart of Ben’s evolution is its new vision statement of the world the charity wishes to influence: An automotive family that thinks well, feels well, lives well, and works well.

Steve Nash, who chairs Ben's board of trustees, highlighted the immense changes in the automotive industry since the point when Ben began, prior to the arrival of the welfare state and NHS, as a benevolent fund supported by generous benefactors in order to support workers who fell on hard times.

"120 years is a long time to be serving our automotive community, and we continue to be fully committed to growing, evolving and assuring that we're responding to the needs of our automotive family," Nash said. 

Services such as counselling and mentoring, supporting people in developing healthy lifestyles and in managing their mental health are vital in this industry and Ben provides these and more.

Ben's annual health and wellbeing survey, released in May this year, highlighted that mental health scores had worsened year on year, with stress being caused by long hours, low staffing levels and high workloads. 

And many in the automotive family are still finding it hard to cope with increased costs of living. One in five of the respondents is struggling with debts.

Ben's chief executive Rachel Clift said: “Our 120th birthday has been a time to reflect on the incredible impact Ben has had over the years, as well as taking time to look ahead. We’re embracing the road ahead with ambition and purpose, launching a future vision that will empower our automotive family to live their best lives.

"This is about driving a new era of health and wellbeing across our industry, focusing on the growing health and wellbeing needs of those who work (or have worked) in the automotive industry and their families.

“We have committed to significantly scaling our health and wellbeing services over the next 5-10 years, enhancing our preventative support and continuing to provide responsive support.

"Our care and village services were an integral and valued part of Ben for over 70 years; however, our future now focuses on the health and wellbeing needs of our automotive family.

“As we look ahead, we will continue to work closely with employers, partners, and industry leaders to ensure the health and wellbeing of automotive workers remains a shared priority. We all have a responsibility to look after each other, our automotive family, so that we can create a strong, resilient industry ready for the future.”

• Coming later this month - AM's full interview with Ben chief executive Rachel Clift.