BIG business comes in for quite a bit of flak from time to time. More often than not it is for making too much money, or not looking after the environment, or for any number of other social ‘crimes’.

But what is less well reported is the social contribution that businesses make to their local communities.

One such recent example is the help given to the refurbishment of the Wribbenhall Parish Rooms.

This is a project that has been run by local residents Tony Trick and Keith Young and they have done it by hard graft and doing everything they can to generate money through donations and grants.

A few months back, they asked if I could help in any way. I wrote to Kingfisher Group, owners of country wide home improvement chain B&Q, to ask if they would donate some kitchen cabinets.

To my absolute delight, they came back straight away and some new kitchen cabinets arrived at the Wribbenhall Parish Rooms last week.

This example of corporate help is not uncommon. Tony and Keith also asked HSBC if they would like to donate some money to their campaign.

They couldn’t give money, was the reply, but would they like to borrow 14 members of staff to help paint the rooms? This was an offer that would have set the refurbishment funds back £4,000.

That organisations like Kingfisher – B&Q – and HSBC step up to the plate when asked is a very good thing indeed.

They are certainly not the only examples of this type of corporate social responsibility and whilst some would argue that this may a cynical attempt to generate more favour with consumers, the reality is that both big and small businesses are – and should be – as much a part of our communities as any other organisations.

But, of course, the real heroes of this story are the volunteers who get these projects under way and who deliver a huge range of resources to their communities.

The Wribbenhall Parish Rooms were built nearly a century ago but it has been generations of volunteers that have, from time to time, come forward with no greater motive than to serve their community and have made sure that this community asset is passed safely from one generation to the next.

Wyre Forest is absolutely crammed with volunteers who do a massive amount for us all, and for no other reason than they want to help.

CONTACT YOUR MP

  • Email: mark.garnier.mp@ parliament.uk
  • Telephone: 020 7219 7198 or 01562 746771.
  • Write: 9a Lower Mill Street, Kidderminster, DY11 6UU, or House of Commons, Westminster, London