Fawley (August 24, 2006) -- Hampshire County Council’s Romsey and Waterside Day Services, based at the Hounsdown Centre in Totton, recently received a £250 donation from Esso and ExxonMobil Chemical at Fawley. The money funded the purchase of a new karaoke machine, a CD radio cassette and a CD radio for service users at the centre.

Karaoke is always extremely popular amongst service users at the centre. However, the karaoke machine was no longer reliable and sometimes not even audible. Phil Merrivale from the refinery heard about this problem and suggested that a donation could be offered to the centre for the purchase of a new one.

Romsey and Waterside Day Services, which was set up over thirty years ago, provides approximately 100 adults with learning disabilities from the local area with social, developmental and occupational activities in order to enhance their wellbeing. A key aim for the service is improving access to the community.

Phil Merrivale, an occupational health adviser at Fawley, commented: “Last Christmas I went with Esso colleagues to the Day Services unit to help serve Christmas lunch. Afterwards we all enjoyed a singsong with their karaoke machine, but it had clearly see better days and I thought they deserved a new one…so I asked for a donation and that set the wheels in motion.”

Mike Woods, a senior day service officer with Hampshire County Council, said: “We enjoy an excellent partnership with Esso who continue to support the day service in a variety of ways which benefits service users and the day service greatly.”