Staff at ACC Liverpool swapped conferences and concerts for the community when they lent a hand with two city projects.
Chief executive Bob Prattey and 120 employees from the venue, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, pulled on their overalls to carry out repairs at nursery Centre 56 and Dutch Farm, both in Liverpool.
At Centre 56, everyone from event managers to box office staff carried out internal and external repairs to the building including painting, constructing shelves and securing fencing. They also developed an allotment and herb garden for the nursery, which provides a support service for vulnerable families.
Pat Roberts, nursery manager, said: “We are grateful to the staff at ACC Liverpool who were happy to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in to help us. We inherited a derelict building last year which needed a lot of attention and the repair work carried out by ACC Liverpool staff will make a massive difference.”
Last year, employees developed and transformed Dutch Farm to create an allotment for the Liverpool Food Alliance to use to produce locally grown products for organisations such as the YMCA.
And this year 39 staff were tasked with continuing the development of the site, which will soon be open to the public, by clearing paths and improving accessibility.
Peter Boyle, YMCA project development officer, said: “Last year ACC Liverpool kick-started a Liverpool wide food hub by creating growing space for homeless hostels in the area to produce and sell food, bringing in valuable funding.
“We’d like to build on this by making the farm more open so that the public can see the hard work going on and buy locally grown produce. ACC Liverpool has been really supportive of us and its help is much appreciated.”
ACC Liverpool suppliers, including GAP Group, T Sloyan and Sons, Ashlea, Hankinson Painting Group, ISS and David Wren also lent their support for the day by providing equipment free of charge with some lending a helping hand on the sites. Controlled Event Solutions and ACC Liverpool caterers, Heathcotes, also helped on both projects.
Mr Prattey said: “We have worked hard to develop relationships with local organisations in the city and, by lending 120 pairs of hands for a day, we hope we can help them to continue making a difference.
“Commitment to the local community is one of the aspects of ACC Liverpool’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme and our entire workforce draws inspiration from helping however we can.”
The venue’s CSR credentials have led the venue to achieve zero waste to landfill and ISO14001 accreditation.
