Spark something good in West Yorkshire
Over 573 M&S customers and employees have come together to donate more than 160 hours of their time to Spark Something Good in Leeds and Bradford.
Over the past week, members of the community have rolled up their sleeves and volunteered at a range of local projects to improve community spaces.
Spark Something Good was launched by M&S last summer in London and will see 24 projects take place across 24 cities in the UK and Ireland over the course of 24 months.
Between 18th and 24th April, the Leeds and Bradford community joined forces with employees from local stores to carry out 24 projects, including a wide range of tasks, such as painting murals, redecorating, gardening, and hosting community markets and celebration lunches.
With more than 447 litres of paint used, 558 bags of rubbish collected and 612 flowers and trees planted, the work has the potential to benefit thousands of people in the local community.
Some of the local organisations in Leeds and Bradford that have benefitted from Spark Something Good include Simon Marks Court Care Home, Seacroft Grange Primary School, InnChurches and Bradford Forster Square.
At the latter, the station’s access ramp underwent a dramatic makeover, including the jet washing of the area, the planting of new flower beds and hanging baskets and the installation of urban knitting to brighten up the area.
Volunteers from M&S Bradford Broadway, Bradford City Council and Business in the Community came together to donate a day of hard work to give Bradford the ‘welcoming platform it deserves’.
Mark Robson, Plan A Champion at M&S in Yorkshire, said: “Spark Something Good has been a real success across Leeds and Bradford and it’s been a great experience for all our employees in Yorkshire to spend some time getting to know some of the groups and organisations that provide so much support to locals in our communities.
“Getting stuck in and helping others can make a profound difference to the services so I’d like to thank every single person that has got involved and donated their time to helping out their local community.”
Spark Something Good is part of Plan A, M&S’s ground-breaking eco and ethical programme. It was developed following extensive research and dialogue which revealed that getting involved in community projects enhanced people’s lives.
The initiative is set to run over 24 months, in 24 cities where they will assist with 24 projects throughout the UK and Ireland.
