Member Article

PARKDEAN RESORTS IS ‘CHANGING LIVES’ IN SUPPORT OF NORTH EAST CHARITY

THE HR team from holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts swapped pens for paintbrushes during a volunteering day for North East-based national charity Changing Lives.

Based at Parkdean Resorts’ central support office in Gosforth, almost 30 employees from the human resources department spent a day redecorating bedrooms at the charity’s accommodation project for young people in Gateshead.

Keen to give something back to the community whilst working as a team, the employees met each of the homes’ residents and worked with them to choose the paint colours and designs they wanted for their room, before the young people selected a winning room at the end of the day.

To aid the project the company supplied equipment including paint brushes and rollers as well as their time, whilst paint was kindly donated by Dulux.

Providing a safe place for vulnerable young people to stay whilst offering help to get back out into the community, the project has supported over 60 young people in the last year, and is close to the heart of Parkdean Resorts’ HR director Maggie Pavlou.

Maggie said: “Changing Lives is a fantastic organisation, which helps to improve the lives of so many people in need, in our region and further afield. This saw us reach out to the Gateshead accommodation project, which specifically helps young homeless people.

“This was our first volunteering day as a team and it was great to see everyone getting involved and working together, where our combined goal was to help make a lasting difference, redecorating eight bedrooms to freshen them up into comfortable spaces for the young people staying in the project.”

Changing Lives is a national charity based in the North East, and was awarded North East Charity of the Year 2017 in September.

Shaun Graham, project manager at Changing Lives’ young people’s accommodation, said: “It was fantastic to welcome the team from Parkdean Resorts to our project recently. They’ve made a massive difference to our residents’ rooms, injecting a whole spectrum of colour across the project.

“We really appreciate the support of local organisations like Parkdean Resorts, taking time out of their schedules to give something back to their community. We wouldn’t be able to help the thousands of people we do across the country without this kind of support, so we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that came along.”

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