International Day of Charity: Supporting Local Communities

5 September marks International Day of Charity, an inspiring campaign created by the United Nations that celebrates and raises awareness for charity work, helps people across the world and encourages us all to do some good in our community.

At Rodgers Leask, we understand the importance of social value and are passionate about giving back to our local communities. We wanted to take a moment to celebrate the International Day of Charity initiative and reflect on some of the wonderful charity work our teams have been involved in so far this year.

This year we decided that we would dedicate two of our working days to volunteering and charity work. This meant that not only could our teams get involved with local initiatives important to them, but that we could expand the reach of our support to charities across the UK.

Our teams have already spent an incredible 109 hours volunteering so far this year.

In Bristol we have:

• Reopened a neglected woodland to be used as a forest school by the students of Marden Vale Academy;
• Restored a section of a local bike trail and continued to help maintain the area;
• Cleared and painted an overgrown play area at much-loved adventure playground and community centre, The Vench;

In Derby we have:

• Held the Cub Scout Jamboree, a camping weekend hosted for a local scout group;
• Provided riverbank maintenance at the Avenue Country Park, helping to remove an invasive plant species;
• Donated construction-related play equipment, including hardhats and high vis vests, to the pupils of Staveley Junior School in Chesterfield for role-play activities;
• Helped set up a six-week kids camp to provide local children the chance to go on their first holiday;

In Liverpool we have:

• Run design workshops to educate students from University of Liverpool School of Engineering and supported them with their Year 2 Group Design Project;

In Nottingham we have:

• Installed two informational lectern boards at a local park in Cotgrave;
• Worked with local youth charity Epic to create an outdoor sensory space and continued to help with the ongoing maintenance of the area;

Director Kriston Harvey said: “We are driven by a sense of responsibility to uplift our community, and the International Day of Charity initiative is a wonderful way to encourage people to get involved and to raise awareness about all the work being done to bring about positive change, not only in the UK but also worldwide.

“It has been inspiring to see our regional teams getting involved with charities and in projects they feel strongly about, and to see the difference made in our local areas and community groups. Our efforts reflect our belief that when local businesses and people come together we can create lasting change, and I look forward to seeing what we have achieved when we look back on International Day of Charity in another years’ time.”

To find out more about International Day of Charity visit: www.un.org/en/observances/charity-day