Stopgap Plays House for Barnardoís

Over 50 youngsters enjoyed a fun packed picnic party at Lucknam Park, Chippenham on Friday 25 June to try out six playhouses that London recruitment agency, Stopgap, built, decorated and furnished - in a 24 hour challenge - as a gift to Barnardoís.

Following the big picnic, at which the children were entertained with face painting, balloon modelling, juggling and stilt walking by Stopgap staff, the playhouses were presented to Ali England, Barnardoís Head of Fund Raising, South West, for six Barnardoís led childrenís services in the region.

The event was held as a team building away day for the Stopgap staff, whose task was to transform the plain wooden, flat pack playhouses into a riot of colour each complete with curtains, toy chest, cushions and blackboard, to one of six themes - Space Oddity, Under the Sea, Fantasy Land, Circus, Wild West and Animal Farm.

Claire Owen, Managing Director of Stopgap comments: Itís all too easy to talk about how ethical your company is or how it supports charities and local communities, but the proof is in the actions you take and we are delighted to be working with Barnardoís. I know everyone in the company had as much fun as we always do on our away days - more so perhaps, as the teams ended up with a finished tangible product that demonstrates how theyíve all pulled together as a team. Being able to give something back to the community leaves people with an enormous sense of satisfaction and is great for raising overall staff morale.

Ali England of Barnardoís comments, We are delighted with this generous donation which will provide a wonderful forum for play and activities at our services. Children only get one chance at childhood and here at Barnardoís we aim to ensure they can make the most of it and that even the most disadvantaged youngsters are given the chance to reach their full potential. We rely on generosity such as this to help us in our quest to ensure every child and young person is given the chance of a better future.

For more information about Barnardoís South West please contact 0117 9415841.