The UK's Leather and Hide Trades’ Benevolent Institution (LHTBI), a charity founded in 1860, is interested in hearing from people with a connection to the leather industry who may be in need of financial support.
At the organisation’s annual general meeting and formal lunch in London at the end of May, treasurer, Tim Bigden, said: “The institution is in good order; our funds cover our outgoings, although we still need to raise money each year.”
In the course of 2006, the charity helped 84 people in the United Kingdom and Ireland with links to the industry. This assistance included small but regular cash payments to supplement people’s income, grants to help retired leatherworkers carry out necessary alterations to their homes and Christmas hampers to a large number of families.
LHTBI president, Roy Winnard, commented that, even 30 years ago, workers in the UK leather industry had to put up with some “pretty appalling” conditions. “The only people our charity touches are people in the leather trade,” he said, “and if more come forward, we will help them as much as we can.”
