Barclays staff volunteer in the borough

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As part of CSV's Make a Difference Day

A group of over 200 local volunteers from Barclays are giving up their time from Monday 17th October to Friday 21st October to support Little Wormwood Scrubs Parkland in support of CSV's Make a Difference Day - the UK's biggest single day of volunteering.

The volunteers from Barclays were among tens of thousands of people from across the UK who will offer a few hours of their time to make a difference on Saturday 29th October.

The 200 strong volunteers will be working in two groups within the children's playground cutting back brambles and trees o create a safer play environment, laying a path for wheelchair access, gardening and painting and decorating. Barclays volunteers were offered the project by Notting Hill Housing Trust.

Little Wormwood Scrubs is an area of parkland which is approximately the size of eighteen football pitches. It was originally farmland and through a long and diverse history became a park in the 19th century.

Debbie Phillips, Barclays Community Manager said "At Barclays we are committed to supporting the communities in which we operate. This is an excellent opportunity for us to make a real and lasting difference to the Little Wormwood Scrubs Parkland which is used by people from all ages in the local community".

 

Another 190 local volunteers from Barclays will be giving their time to help at the Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Centre for five days from Monday 10th October. Over the five days of volunteering, the Barclays staff will be cleaning and preparing surfaces, painting both internally and externally, general maintenance in the grounds and gardening. One of the biggest jobs the volunteers face is the re-decoration of the changing rooms. All the materials will be funded from a £4,000 grant from Barclays Employee Volunteering Programme.

The high quality floodlit track and field facilities at the Sports Centre offer division one standard long jump, high jump, pole-vaulting, discus, shot and provision for all track sports. This makes Linford Christie Stadium an important regional centre for athletes of all ages. Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Thames Valley Harriers Athletics Club, who are based at the stadium, hope that the Sports Centre can now help nurture the talent needed to boost the British Olympic team’s medal hopes in 2012.

Debbie Phillips, Barclays Community Manager said “At Barclays we are committed to supporting the communities in which we operate. This is an excellent opportunity for us to make a real and lasting difference to the stadium and really benefit the local community”.

Cllr Melanie Smallman, Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s cabinet member for education, said: “The new track and facilities at the Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Centre will give a major boost to athletics in west London and make the borough an important destination for regional and national championships."

Organised by national charity CSV and supported by Barclays, Make a Difference Day encourages people across the UK to consider how they can support their communities and make a difference to the lives of local people by volunteering just a few hours of their time.

Barclays actively encourages employees to volunteer their time and talents, giving grants and time off work, in addition to supporting flagship projects such as Make a Difference Day and Barclays Spaces for Sports. In 2004, over 11,500 Barclays employees volunteered for Make a Difference Day and over 31,500 hours of bank time were given to make a difference.

October 9, 2005