Right Royal Effort for Charity

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Park Royal businesses team up for 'Action Day'

Teams of volunteers from 10 companies in the Park Royal area are set to tackle fourteen projects within eight separate sites next week during the fourth annual ‘Action Day’ initiative organised by Park Royal Partnership.

Along with a team from Park Royal Partnership, volunteers from TNS, Northfields Estate Agents, Brixton PLC, Alamo Rent A Car, Mike Cook Garden & Design, Ramada Encore Hotel, J Kelly Autos and Palmdale Motors Ltd will be working to help enhance the premises and physical surroundings of a number of local schools and charities.

As the main facilitator of the Action Day, the Park Royal Partnership team will be working in tandem with Brent Active Citizens, Brent Park Services and Metropolitan Police Volunteers to provide St Michael’s Nursery in Brent with an educational school garden. The project was sourced via the collaboration of Brent Active Citizens Programme and will involve a major clean-up operation of a large site within the school grounds.

Meanwhile TNS UK will be contributing the largest single group of volunteers to participate in any Action Day to date, with 50 representatives set to garden, weed, create a vegetable plot and paint the nursery at Pope John Roman Catholic Primary School in Hammersmith and Fulham.

In a significant coup for Park Royal Partnership, a composite team of small and self-employed business people collectively known as BNI Walpole will be weeding, clearing and digging across 4 separate areas, including patio areas, at St Christopher’s YMCA in Ealing. The participation of BNI Walpole, which comprises companies including Stay Active Ltd, Mouse Nous, Myhome, WPA, Face Lift Electrical, Digitalplot, Hilton Shaw Plumbing and Heating, and Kiwi Landscapes, marks the first time that Park Royal Partnership has achieved such comprehensive buy-in from a large number of time-poor, self employed individuals who are each giving up a day of business in aid of charity.

Other projects being tackled during the mass team-working initiative include:

• Painting a children’s toilet and laundry area at The Log Cabin in Ealing by Northfields Estate Agents. Northfields will be contributing their largest single group of volunteer staff to date, with 20 of their staff across from their three offices set to paint the children’s toilet and laundry area at the Log Cabin on Northfield Avenue. Richard Palfreeman, Managing Director of Northfields commented: "We have had a fantastic response from our staff, to make a positive contribution to brighten up the area for the local children and families that use The Log Cabin. Estate Agents are sometimes not known for their generous spirit but hopefully this will demonstrate our continued interest and commitment in our local community!"
• The re-establishment of a school pond at Hathaway School, in Ealing, by a professional team from Mike Cook Garden & Design;
• Alamo Rent A Car will be painting the lounge area at the Church of the Ascension in Ealing;
  Brixton PLC will be power washing and painting the entrance area at Brent MIND;
  Ramada Encore Hotel, J Kelly Autos and Palmdale Motors Ltd will join forces to paint the school café at Ealing’s Hathaway School.

Joanne Lyall, Director of Business Growth at Park Royal Partnership, commented: “We have had a fantastic response from local companies keen to assemble teams to make a real contribution to the ongoing regeneration of the local area. The entire ethos of the Action Day is to establish a partnership approach that can benefit us all, and I’m delighted that PRP has been able to facilitate this positive contribution to local charities.”

As well as making a real difference to the local area, volunteering companies have found a number of benefits in taking part. Participating staff are able to benefit from excellent team building opportunities, whilst team leaders gain invaluable hands-on project management experience. The businesses raise their profiles within the local community, and demonstrate their social responsibility.

Each project is completed within one day, and participating companies cover the cost of materials for their tasks, and grant their staff the time off to participate. All projects are within the London Boroughs of Ealing, Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Park Royal Partnership’s Action Day takes place from 18-19 October 2007.

 

October 19, 2007