Member Article

Builder Seddon hosts annual Seddy Bear’s Picnic

Family-run Seddon recently hosted its third Seddy Bear’s Picnic to mark the beginning of an annual BL17 Campaign led by local charity, Urban Outreach, to provide thousands of Bolton’s children with packed lunches every week during in the summer holidays.

More than 90 young people from community centres in Bolton visited Seddon’s Plodder Lane offices in Bolton on Thursday 27th July to meet Seddy Teddy, the construction firm’s much-loved mascot, while enjoying a picnic and entertainment.

The children were also given a talk by City of Trees, a movement which aims to reinvigorate Greater Manchester’s landscape by transforming underused woodland and planting trees for every person who lives there, within a generation. Every youngster was then given a chance to plant tree seeds in biodegradable pots which they could then take home to keep.

Seddon is part of the Bolton Family, a group of public and private organisations which work together to help create a more positive impact within the communities in which they all work. The group’s founding members include Seddon, Barclays, Bolton at Home, Bolton Council, Asda, Bolton FM, Keoghs, and Warburtons. Its aims and objectives align with the Bolton 2030 Vision to start well, live well, age well, prosper, be clean and green, and become a strong and distinctive community.

The BL17 initiative aims to provide over 6000 local children with packed lunches during the summer holiday period. Volunteers from the local communities and local companies, including Seddon, pack the lunches each morning from 7am-8am at Urban Outreach’s distribution centre; the lunches are then delivered to the communities with the help of a Seddon van and drivers.

Dave Bagley, chief executive of Urban Outreach: “We are delighted that Seddon and the Bolton Family continue to support us each year with our initiatives, with their help we can make more of a difference to the people in Bolton who need our support the most.”

Nicola Hodkinson, head of business services at Seddon, said: “We were thrilled to host this year’s Seddy Bear’s Picnic at our offices and get our kids thinking about the environment, while also kicking off this incredibly important packed lunch campaign.

“The initiative is a fantastic scheme that everyone in the Bolton Family fully supports. The summer holidays can be an expensive time for families, so this gesture is our way of showing people that we are here for them if needed.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Seddon .