Machinery dealer Hamilton Ross Group has announced a year-long fundraising partnership with rural charity RSABI as part of the firm’s 90th anniversary celebrations.
The family-run business stocks machinery across six divisions, including agriculture, groundcare and construction, spread over six depots in the central belt of Scotland, operating under two trading companies, Hamilton Brothers and R&R Machinery.
Leading brands including Massey Ferguson, Valtra and Fendt, along with JCB Agriculture, account for a major part of the company’s agricultural sales.
The firm will be supporting the charity’s work to deliver practical, emotional and financial support to those working in the Scottish agriculture industry, through fundraising and awareness-raising throughout the year.
At the launch of the partnership, a Mental Health First Aid training course was delivered to an initial 12 members of staff from The Hamilton Ross Group, hosted at the R&R Machinery depot in Lanark.
The training is part of a pioneering initiative being rolled out across the industry by RSABI and IED Training Solutions Ltd, an award-winning consultancy founded by former Royal Marines.
Passionate about growing the conversation around mental health, the Group is also sponsoring The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) National Photography Competition, at the Royal Highland Show in June.
This year the competition has RSABI’s #KeepTalking message as its theme, encouraging people in agricultural communities to reach out and reconnect with friends, neighbours, relatives and others who might be feeling isolated.
The hope is this year’s photography competition will help to reduce stigma by encouraging people to think and talk more freely about mental health.
Jamie Gardiner, operations director at the Hamilton Ross Group: “As a family-run business, it’s important that we remain embedded in the local communities, and that our development is sustainable for the future generations to come, and thankfully, the different locations from which we operate allow for a variety of actions to be taken. With more donations planned across the rest of the year, we’re sure that this partnership will be a fruitful one.”
