12 charities are being supported

Wilkins rolls out year-long Christmas gift for local charities

The desk tidy design provides slots for the calendar, a phone, and pens
The desk tidy design provides slots for the calendar, a phone, and pens

Nottingham packaging firm The Wilkins Group is rolling out a ‘12 months of Christmas’ initiative, with a new fundraising campaign.

Each month in 2025, the family-run Colwick-based business will be donating funds to a different Nottinghamshire charity.

To kick off the year of giving and highlight the charity recipients, the business has parcelled up a charity calendar and desk tidy that it has sent to its customers as a Christmas gift.

In line with its company values and its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, The Wilkins Group said it wanted to support local environmental and conservation charities that were close to home and important to its teams.

Justin Wilkins, joint managing director at The Wilkins Group, said: “We think this is a fabulous idea that not only fulfils the true spirit of Christmas but also keeps that spirit going throughout the year.

“As a company, we especially take our ESG commitment very seriously. We are innovators in environmental packaging and have a love for our home city of Nottingham as well as our staff, many of whom live locally.

“So, this year we drew all our values into one year-long Christmas gift that we hope our customers will love and that also benefits the city and its inhabitants.” 

The calendar box measures 221x123mm and consists of 14 cards, with 12 of those cards dedicated to the individual charities that the firm has chosen to support during 2025. All of these client gifts have been wrapped in a gift box that doubles as a desk tidy.

By scanning a QR code, recipients of the calendar gift box can find instructions to easily assemble the desk tidy, with the design providing slots for the calendar, a phone, and pens.

Each month, a card is dedicated to one of the 12 charities being supported. The front of each card bears the month’s calendar information and details of how The Wilkins Group will support the chosen charity.

The reverse of each page showcases the work of that charity. At the end of each month, the charity featured will receive a donation from the firm to support their good work. 

The charities selected are all in close proximity to The Wilkins Group’s Nottingham factory and are small or medium-sized ventures. The giving campaign starts off with Green’s Windmill Trust, based in Sneinton, which supports the area’s windmill and science museum, once home to scientist George Green.

Other Nottinghamshire charities benefiting from the campaign include Papplewick Pumping Station, Stonebridge City Farm, Walesby Forest, Nottinghamshire Beekeepers’ Association, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Gedling Conservation Trust, Canalside Heritage Centre, and Eco Works – a community garden charity in St Ann’s, Nottingham.

Other charities set to receive recognition and funding include Hedgepigs, which provides medical care or assistance for injured hedgehogs, Bulwell Forest Garden, a community garden project, and Mansfield Wildlife Rescue.

The Wilkins Group employs over 370 people at its Nottingham headquarters and produces packaging for major global brands and supermarkets. The firm also operates sites in Sri Lanka, China, and Bangladesh.

“We are proud of our heritage and the growth our company has achieved since my grandfather set it up in the 1960s,” said Wilkins.

“Although now an international business, we will always respect our Nottingham beginnings.”

The Wilkins Group bought a Komori GLX-740+CC Advance EX at Drupa earlier this year. The press arrived shortly after another significant Komori purchase, a Lithrone GLX40 seven-colour 18,000sph carton press installed in November 2023. The business also recently bought a Heidelberg Mastermatrix 106 CSB die-cutter.