Pictured above: Dee McCann, (front) the volunteers' manager at Acorns Children's hospice, with the Willmott Dixon team of volunteers

A team of volunteers from Willmott Dixon Partnerships have carried out vital maintenance work at Acorns Children's hospice to create a brighter welcome for visiting families. 

The team from Willmott Dixon's Birmingham north and south branches have completed an essential electrical upgrade of three rooms, following a request from the hospice in Selly Oak. The work was a continuation of work carried out last summer by Willmott Dixon at the hospice, which included crafting handmade storage units for the play room, making a window seat and extra storage for the dining room. 

Until recently the rooms had been used as offices, so the existing lighting in the rooms was very poor with lots of high level plugs and sockets that needed to be moved to lower levels. 

In addition the team carried out some plaster repairs, provided some storage cabinets, fitted radiator covers and general decoration.

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.   

Richard Freeman, Willmott Dixon's Customer and Community Officer for Birmingham south, was one of the volunteers who helped with the project. He said, "Willmott Dixon already has a relationship with the hospice, having previously raised money and carried out decorating and electrical work last year, but the hospice is such a fantastic facility offering much needed support and care to children and their families that we wanted to help once more."

Acorns offers a network of care and support to children who have life limiting or life threatening conditions and their families, at its hospices in Selly Oak, Walsall and Worcester, and through its community team who offer support at home. Children can stay at the hospices for short breaks, emergency and end-of-life care. The community team give support to the family 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Dee McCann, Volunteers Manager for Acorns, says, "The work that Willmott Dixon has carried out is greatly appreciated. It costs £7,500 per day to run the hospice and the charity relies on donations for the majority of its income, so money for work such as has been carried out this week is not always available."

Willmott Dixon Partnerships is currently working with Birmingham City Council to repair and maintain 60,000 properties in the city. It's two contracts for the north and south of the city includes the areas of Edgbaston, Hall Green, Northfield, Selly Oak, Ladywood, Erdington, Perry Bar and Sutton Coldfield. It aims to reduce the cost of this service by £47m over the five year terms of the two contracts.

Willmott Dixon Group is one of the UK's largest privately-owned capital works, regeneration and support services companies.

With over 158 years of experience, the company provides services within the built environment to Government, registered social landlords, local authorities and private sector clients throughout the UK.

Willmott Dixon Partnerships works with social housing landlords, currently providing support services to over 120,000 homes, 1,200 public buildings and 50 commercial properties across the UK.