More than 400 hours of volunteering time were donated by around 50 of the group’s staff to help local causes across East Anglia and southern England during the end of last year.
The #80hours initiative, which was run as part of Premier Travel Group’s 80th anniversary celebrations, saw the company choose 10 charitable projects to support after they were nominated by local customers and residents.
Among the organisations selected was The Royal Mencap Society as agents and head office staff teamed up to revamp its Grove Cottage centre in Bishop’s Stortford.
Over the course of two days, volunteers replanted flowerbeds, repaired garden furniture, laid artificial turf and installed a new sensory water feature.
The initiative was organised and overseen by Steve Cox, Premier Travel’s regional manager, who told TTG: “I cannot put into words how it felt seeing the children playing in the area we’d worked on and for us getting to spend time with some fantastic and inspiring people.
“Giving your time feels like such a little thing, but we were shown just how much it means to people.”
Maria Sims, Grove Cottage special needs nursery manager, said the centre was “incredibly grateful” for the work done by Premier to its outside space.
“This area is used by not only the nursery but also the older groups and is now a very inviting and stimulating space,” she said. “This area will enable the children to enhance their learning and have so much fun with their amazing new water feature.
“Many of our children and members learn through play and investigation, and this will be a fantastic experience for them and will no doubt enhance their time with us.”
Among other organisations that Premier employees volunteered at were The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, social care provider Independence Matters, and the Norwich office of disability charity Scope.
Julia Harvey, service manager at Independence Matters, said: “The hard work from Premier, carried out in cold weather, to improve the appearance of our building was much appreciated. Now the outside will reflect the good work that goes on inside the workshop building.”
