Online electricals retailer AO has partnered with Brown Recycling to arrange for a skip to be donated to a community garden, after members of staff spruced up the area during one of their ‘Make A Difference’ days.
Each year, AO employees can swap two days at their desk to do some volunteer work and recently, a team of 11 got stuck in at Rawlyn Road Allotments, in Bolton.
One section of the allotment site is used as a community garden, which is run by volunteers from Bolton GP Federation, along with Age UK Bolton and Bolton Wanderers in the Community. As well as providing a valuable green space in the local community, it allows service users to grow fruit and vegetables, which they can take home to cook and eat.
During their visit, the AO team learned about the need for a skip to help with clearing debris and general rubbish. Really wanting to help, the AO facilities team got involved and spoke to their regular skip provider, Brown Recycling, who arranged for an eight-yard builders’ skip – usually costing £250 – to be delivered to the site free of charge.
Robert Powell, Facilities Manager at the AO headquarters in Bolton, said: “When we found out what they needed, I knew we had to make it happen.
“Brown Recycling have been kind enough to donate the skip and they have been absolutely amazing from start to finish. As soon as we spoke to them, they were more than happy to help.”
Nathan Ibbs, Head of Business Development at Brown Recycling, added: “When AO approached us for help, we simply had to get involved. We’re all about giving back to local communities and are more than happy to have played our part in helping the team of volunteers get the community garden cleared up.
“The skip will be on site for a week, before we’ll collect it and arrange for safe disposal of the green waste.”
Trish Goodwin, who works as a volunteer for Bolton GP Federation and helps to run the community garden, said: “We’re absolutely over the moon. I was in tears when I found out!
“The AOers were incredible when they visited during their MAD day – they did a week’s worth of work in about two hours!
“The garden reopened for the first session of the year a couple of weeks after they came, and everyone was overwhelmed. They couldn’t believe what people had done for them.
“We’re so grateful to them for all their help and we also want to say a massive thank you to Brown Recycling for making this happen.”