Supporting the Community

We recognise our role and responsibilities towards communities and societies upon which our organisation has an influence either directly or indirectly and endeavour to act as a responsible neighbour.

Our branches are encouraged to support their local communities by donating materials, expertise or time to local organisations and community projects. They are also actively encouraged to support our national together' initiative.

Each year our employees work with our suppliers, customers and sister companies to raise funds for a staff-nominated national charity through a variety of events. It is entirely down to their enthusiasm, commitment and imagination that the initiative has raised £1,370,000 since its launch in 2002.

During 2008, our chosen charity was the British Heart Foundation and we raised £332,000 through a variety of events, including:

• Our Annual Golf and Sporting Dinner was held at the Celtic Manor Resort. The event included an auction and raised over £31,000
• This year's annual 'together' Trek saw five employees and nine suppliers walk through the Arctic Circle on a six-day trip, raising £20,000 in the process
• Two brave members of staff took part in a sky-dive and raised over £3,100
• A Wild West charity night saw 150 party-goers don cowboy boots and Stetsons, raising over £3,000 in the process
• The 'Kiss it Goodbye' appeal saw staff donate bags of unwanted clothes, books, CDs and homewares to British Heart Foundation shops across the UK. Just one bag of good quality clothing can raise an average of £20 for the charity.