Dad-of-three pledges to donate slice of Portsmouth firm's profits to food bank after having to rely on charity in tough times
A BUSINESS is giving back to the community by pledging to donate a portion of its profits to a food bank.
Portsmouth-based Unified Group is a facilities provider set up by Paul Eite and his business partner in May 2019, offering a range of services including event security, alarm systems and commercial cleaning.
Mr Eite has decided to donate five per cent of the the firm’s profits for the rest of 2020 to the Beacon food bank in Havant, after knowing how vital the service can be from personal experience.
In 2016, the then single dad-of-three wrongly had his tax credits frozen for several weeks and had to rely on food banks due to his reduced income.
The 43-year-old said: ‘There is a stigma about being a single dad as opposed to a single mum but they welcomed me and gave me a free cup of tea.
‘They were brilliant and helped me get Christmas presents for my boys.’
Paul, of Hayling Island, had his credits resumed after giving evidence at a select committee to help others in similar situations to him and now wants to continue to help others out.
He said: ‘I want to give something to people who have nothing.
‘I did not give it a second thought before – until I had nothing myself. Even if it only helps one person, it doesn’t matter.’
Elizabeth Ascua, the food bank project manager, has stayed in contact with Paul since meeting him in 2016 and said she was incredibly grateful for his gesture.
She said: ‘It’s amazing. I thought it was really generous.
‘I know how important we were to him at that time. We were right behind him from the start.’
The team plans to continue to donate a portion of their profits to help others, and will consider donating to other charities in the future, as well as food banks.
The company has expanded quickly in the past nine months, growing from a small staff to now employing 12 cleaners, 14 door staff and five office members. All are based locally.