The Bathroom Association has named CRASH as its charity partner for the 2026 Connect Conference, renewing a relationship first established at the Association’s annual conference in 2023.
Funds will be raised through the charity raffle at the conference gala dinner, held at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, on Thursday 8 October.
CRASH has been the UK construction industry’s charity since 1996. For three decades, CRASH has supported homelessness charities and hospices to undertake vital building projects by drawing on the professional expertise, construction products and financial support provided by companies and individuals across the industry.
Its work transforms hostels, day centres, night shelters and move-on accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. CRASH also helps create welcoming, practical environments where children and adults receiving hospice care can spend precious time with their families.
The charity’s collaborative model closely reflects the theme of this year’s Connect Conference, ‘Stronger Together’, which will examine how greater cooperation across the bathroom sector can support innovation, raise standards and build a stronger, more resilient marketplace.
Amy Kirk, Marketing and Events Director at the Bathroom Association, said: “We supported CRASH at our conference in 2023 and saw how strongly its work resonated with our members. Returning to the charity this year felt particularly appropriate.
“CRASH demonstrates what can be achieved when an industry brings together its knowledge, products, contacts and financial support behind a shared purpose. That principle sits at the heart of our ‘Stronger Together’ theme.
“Our gala dinner is always an opportunity for the bathroom community to come together, and we hope delegates will support the raffle generously and help CRASH continue creating places that make a lasting difference to people’s lives.”
Trisha Pickersgill, Chief Executive at CRASH, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Bathroom Association for choosing to support CRASH through its 2026 Connect Conference. It is particularly fitting that the Thirty Under Thirty Awards are supporting CRASH in our 30th anniversary year, as we celebrate three decades of constructing places that care for people and transforming lives through the power of the construction industry.”
“The generosity of companies and individuals across the construction and bathroom industries enables us to help homelessness charities and hospices navigate complex and costly building projects. Their support brings together vital funding, specialist knowledge and construction products to create safe, caring environments for people when they need them most.
“We look forward to working with the Association and its members and showing what our industries can achieve when we work together.”
The Bathroom Association Connect Conference will bring together businesses and professionals from across the bathroom supply chain for a day of market insight, discussion and networking.
The daytime programme includes keynote speaker Jez Rose; Rebecca Larkin, Head of Construction Research at the Construction Products Association; Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, founder and CEO of the Society of British and International Interior Design; entrepreneur and manufacturer Rob Law MBE; and a panel discussion examining skills shortages and competence across bathroom installation and plumbing.
The conference will be followed by a black-tie gala dinner, hosted by comedian Alun Cochrane. Alongside the CRASH charity raffle, the evening will include the presentation of the Bathroom Association’s 2026 Thirty-under-Thirty Awards.
For further information about the Connect Conference, and to book tickets, visit bathroom-association.org.uk/cc2026.
To learn more about CRASH and its work, visit crash.org.uk.