55 employees across five teams from BNP Paribas Real Estate around the UK took part in the company’s first Community Week in partnership with Business in the Community.

Employees volunteered to take part in the projects teams with each team assigned a willing captain who selected the projects and managed the process from start to finish.

The London team chose to work with Norbury Manor Primary School in Croydon where they completely renovated and designed a wildlife and garden area from a neglected patch of overgrown woodland. For years this area was under-utilised and unattractive waste area within the School’s grounds.

The Midlands-based team worked at Washwood Heath Technology College in Birmingham.  They revamped a large under-utilised quad area creating a versatile outdoor environment which can now be used as a meeting point, an outdoor classroom or simply a place for growing vegetables and flowers.

The South West team included employees from the Southampton, Bristol and Cardiff offices who renovated a youth club in Bristol by cleaning out, repainting and decorating the interior.

The Northern team from BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester offices took out a number of elderly people to an interactive museum for the day, treated them to lunch and organised various other activities.

A team from Scotland and Newcastle decided to work at the dementia ward at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, laying flower beds and tidying up the garden to enable patients to use the outside space – especially important for dementia patients who are unable to the leave the hospital.

All teams raised extra funds for their activities on top of BNP Paribas Real Estate’s company donation, working with suppliers and clients, and holding internal events to ensure that the teams were able to exceed expectations on their tasks and give the organisations extra money to spend after the project itself had been completed. For example, the London team raised over £600 (672 euros) extra on top of the corporate donations, with which the school was able to buy benches, bird-boxes and other items for the newly created wildlife observatory area, and a local contractor donated three extra labourers to help the team with the manual work.

Mark England, CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “This was a thoroughly enjoyable exercise but also incredibly important.  It is when economic circumstances are difficult that charitable giving and business involvement in the community decreases, but it is also when it is needed most.  We have now made a commitment to do this every year, in order to build worthwhile and longstanding relationships with our local communities.”