Red Nose is cleaning up (From Swindon Advertiser)

Arval picks up litter in aid of Comic Relief

6:10pm Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Matthew Edwards

WORKERS in West Swindon have been cleaning up their act to raise money for Comic Relief.

A dozen employees at Arval, a vehicle leasing and fleet management company based in the Windmill Hill Business Park, were out picking like mad for Red Nose Day, collecting litter to support local communities and raise money for the campaign.

The ‘Be A Red Nose Picker’ initiative in Toothill was run in partnership with Swindon Council, which provided the equipment for the event, and saw councillor Keith Williams, who works for Arval, rolling up his sleeves in the cold weather.

Arval’s charitable committee, Arval Cares, has committed to donate money to Red Nose Day as part of the event, and the more litter that employees collected, the more money it will give.

In total, 23 bags of litter were collected from the village area.

Orporate social responsibility manager Tracey Scarr said: “It went really well.

“There were 12 of us and we went over to Toothill village and we collected 23 bags of litter in two hours.

“The activity is part of our Arval Cares in the community and it was a good way for us to get out and engage with the local community. We think it engages our staff in other activities that are helpful for the community and helps them come together.

“I would love to think we could raise more than £1,000 over the week.”

The litter pick was just one activity in a whole week of events that the Windmill Hill-based company is running.

Staff will also be taking part in a Red Nose quiz today and others will be putting on their trainers as they prepare to take part in a fun runs toorrow and on Thursday.

On Friday, a Red Nose spinathon will take place, where nine exercise classes of 10 riders will take place back-to-back throughout the day, with each rider paying to join in. It will also be a dress down day, where employees are encouraged to pay to wear red, plus there will be a cake challenge and Red Nose Bingo.

Employees will also be aiming to raise a smile during the week with a comedy wall being erected for staff to post their jokes.