Volunteering effort sees Leasowe playground regenerated during community giveback week

• Community volunteering week sees businesses, including Virgin Media and Wingnut Utilities, regenerate the Addy playground in Leasowe, Wirral
• Event held to celebrate, with members of the community visiting the site to thank volunteers
• Over 55 Virgin Media and Wingnut Utilities volunteers have helped throughout the week – with staff donating over 500 hours of their time to aid the Leasowe community

Members of the community have come together to thank Virgin Media and Wingnut Utilities on the closing day of ‘The Leasowe Great Giveback Week’ which was held to mark the completion of the adventure playground regeneration project.

During the week, more than 45 Virgin Media and 10 Wingnut Utilities staff volunteered their time to finish the project, with support from the Wirral Council, which has seen improvements made to the playground and central hub building – including resurfacing and repainting –benefitting the community for years to come. The group also organised and carried out a litter pick in the local area and planted flowers to add an additional pop of colour outside shops around the town.

In total, Virgin Media staff have donated more than 500 hours of their time over the last few months in aid of Leasowe community projects.

In light of the significant contribution made and hard work put in by the volunteers, Wirral Council held a celebratory event on Friday, giving the Mayor and local people the chance to say thank you in person.

Cllr. Helen Cameron, Chair of the Tourism, Communities, Culture & Leisure Committee, said: “The Leasowe Giveback Week has been a great success, with dozens of people pulling together towards the same goal and we’re really thankful to Virgin Media for their investment and contribution to this collaboration.

“It’s great to see just how much has been achieved in the space of a week, with the ‘addy’ building and playground given new life through the painting that took place. Also, the allotments are now accessible for large vehicles and for disabled people with a new surface to park on.

“I hope even more people will be encouraged to use both the ‘addy’ and the allotments and I’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody who took part in making this happen.”

Julian Holland, Regional Community Manager at Virgin Media, added: “Wherever we are, when we’re expanding our ultrafast network, we’re always looking for ways in which we can collaborate with local residents to do something great for the local community.

“Thanks to the hard work of over 55 Virgin Media and Wingnut Utilities employees, we’ve helped to makeover the Addy and bring a new lease of life into the playground for all local children to enjoy now and into the future.”

As part of its Project Lightning expansion programme, Virgin Media has expanded its ultrafast network in Leasowe by 2,500 premises during the pandemic. In addition to providing the UK’s fastest widely available speeds to more homes in the area, all Virgin Media staff have the opportunity to take part in volunteering initiatives within the community.

Over the past year, the business has also been supporting the Leasowe community through a range of initiatives – including donating to the local community food bank in October 2020.