The volunteers from the company’s Burton-upon-Trent based branch shunned sporting activities to carry out some essential maintenance work at RSPCA Burton-upon-Trent and District Branch instead. The team carried out improvements to kennels housing animals for rehoming, the branch’s on-site charity shop and also renewed fifty metres of guttering and fascias, applying lead flashing to a roof, renewing drain gullies and removing a partician wall. Work at the branch was able to take place with support from local suppliers Travis Perkins and SUPA Scaffold, who donated all materials used by the volunteers.

Willmott Dixon is currently working with Trent and Dove Housing to repair and maintain 5,200 homes in the East Staffordshire area including Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter.

All of Willmott Dixon’s employees are offered the opportunity to swap one normal working day for a ‘community day’ volunteering in their local area and many choose to continue voluntary activities in their own time.

Marie Hope, Willmott Dixon’s Customer and Community Officer for Burton, was one of the volunteers who helped to carry out the project. She said “We were approached by the RSPCA to do the project and we jumped at the chance to help. It is so good to be able to give something back to the local community and many of us at Willmott Dixon are animal lovers so it was great we were able to help.

Yvonne Centre Manager of RSPCA Burton-on-Trent and District Branch, says “We are self –financing and receive no state or lottery aid. It costs £4,500 per week to finance this animal home and all the money we raise is used locally to help animals within the branch area. Looking after so many poorly and abandoned animals leaves us with little time or funding to maintain the shelter and we rely on local companies for their assistance wherever possible. This is why we are so grateful to the Willmott Dixon team for giving up their spare time for us.”