Body Shop team heads out to help community centre

The annual Anita Day, named after company founder Anita Roddick, sees employees spend a day volunteering with a charity in the area.

New Park Community and Arts Association in Chichester was this year’s chosen charity and 40 to 50 staff gathered at the New Park Centre on Tuesday.

They said it was a group decision and the venue meant they could all go and work together for the same cause, spreading out doing various jobs at the same time.

Annika Zarifian, PR manager for The Body Shop, said: “The community association in the centre of Chichester was in need of enthusiastic green-fingered volunteers to help tidy outdoor beds and landscaped areas following the recent growth spurt.

“They also have a small biodiversity garden growing native plants to encourage wildlife and were seeking help with clearing and replanting of several beds, jet washing paved areas, cutting back overgrown shrubs, some weeding, and re-painting of railings and a small fence.

“In addition, they wanted to develop a small natural bed alongside the pathway to the ancient wall and put up bird and bat boxes in the wildflower garden.”

The volunteers set to work, clearing weeds from the pathways, carefully weeding the biodiversity garden, trimming hedges and painting the foyer inside.

The New Park community centre has a long history behind it, from when it was first built as a school in 1887 to the present day, which has seen a whole new building developed and constructed.

The centre is home to a huge range of groups, clubs and societies. It is a charitable organisation run by the New Park Community and Arts Association, dedicated to enhancing the social and cultural environment for Chichester’s residents.

The centre sent the team a message of thanks, saying: “Please convey our sincere thanks and gratitude to all the volunteers who did such a wonderful job.

“The place is looking great and everyone is commenting on it, we even have people coming in specifically to comment on the transformation.”

The Body Shop started in 1976 with Anita Roddick’s belief that business could be a force for good. The company continues its commitment to enrich, not exploit, and its vounteering programme, pinnacled by Anita Day, gives employees an opportunity to make a positive difference. The goal is to invest 250,000 hours of skills and know-how.

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