British Land Community Week 2025
Between 23 and 26 June 2025, Grand Union BID supported 120 British Land colleagues to take part in volunteering activity in Paddington as part of their annual Community Week.
Across nine diverse events, colleagues transformed gardens, classrooms and playgrounds with new plants and bespoke murals, prepared and served afternoon tea for local older residents and connected with primary school children as they listened one-to-one to pupils read and jointly conducted a litter pick of the local area.
In total the colleagues gave over 550 hours of their time across four action-packed days and reached nearly 1,000 beneficiaries.
“It was great to be involved in today’s tea party. A reminder of the value of community connection, even in small moments”
“The volunteers were fantastic – incredibly flexible, enthusiastic, and more than happy to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in with all the tasks throughout the day. It was also lovely to observe the way they engaged with a QEII learner who had refused to not go to Costa trip (a favourite activity of hers) as she wanted to watch the volunteers for the afternoon. The volunteers answered questions, shared what they were doing and really made the learner feel included. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the shed and playground wall have had a much-needed refresh – what was once dull now looks bright, cheerful and more welcoming space”
Over the week two separate events were held at St Mary Magdalene and St Stephen’s Primary School, just a short walk from Paddington Central.
On Tuesday, fourteen volunteers spent time listening to 50 children read. The pupils loved the novelty of sharing a story with an adult who is not a teacher or parent and many sat enchanted when the volunteers read to them. Opportunities for one-to-one reading, where children can receive personalized support and individual praise are critical for building confidence, self-esteem and enjoyment of reading. In just an hour the colleagues had listened to 25 percent of pupils in the school read. The team went on to sort, stamp and label more than 600 library books - a task that school staff simply do not have the time or resources to complete.
On Wednesday, British Land employees returned to the school to conduct a litter pick of the local community alongside pupils from years 5 and 6. There was of course great excitement from the pupils at being out of school, but this was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of the responsibility we all have as environmental stewards for our local community and encourage behaviour change. Twelve of the pupils who participated lived in tower blocks overlooking the litter picking site. The pupils shared that they had dropped litter in the past but wouldn't do so again having taken part in this activity.
British Land kindly made generous financial donations to each project - enabling tools, equipment and materials to be purchased. It was also wonderful to see items being repurposed - including bricks that used to adorn the reception area at British Land's Head Office being used within Blomfield Road Community garden to construct planters.
Many of the projects who benefitted from British Land support this year have previously hosted teams and welcomed back repeat volunteers - evidence of the strong connections colleagues form to community groups and the postivie experiences had.
Company-wide events are a fantastic way to raise the profile and value of volunteering. If you are a BID member we’d be delighted to support you with planning bespoke activities here in Paddington that connect your colleagues to the community. Please get in touch to find out how we can work together.