Pictured above: Tony Nurrish, Dean Kociuba, Leanne Appleby from TNT Birmingham Depot join Kerry Casey (in Wooden Spoon rugby shirt) and pupils Bob Gaskin and Harriet Henden-Green at Jane Lane School in Walsall

Enthusiastic fundraisers from TNT's Birmingham Depot have been witnessing exactly how their efforts to raise money for Wooden Spoon, the children's charity of rugby, has benefitted children at the Jane Lane School in Walsall.

Employees from the express delivery giant were hosted by Phil Pemble, Chairman of the West Midlands Wooden Spoon Region, when they visited the school's new vocational training centre as part of Seeing Is Believing (SIB), a pioneering initiative being championed by the logistics company and the charity. The staff took time off from their working day to see, first hand, how the money they raise has helped fund the new facility.

TNT Express Services is the largest single contributor to Wooden Spoon, having raised over £2.8million in the past 14 years. Wooden Spoon provides funding across the four home nations for a wide range of projects and community programmes to improve the quality and prospect of life for disadvantaged children and young people.

Head teacher Heather Lomas said the £11,000 donation was the catalyst to unlock additional funding enabling completion of the Stuart Building.

"This facility has provided an exceptional benefit for the children and the local community," she said, "thanks to Spoon and TNT we can now offer a new range of vocational skills to our pupils including: bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing, horticulture and decorating. Phil's Walsall office of Pertemps People Developement Group even paid for our much needed cement mixer."

More than 2,500 TNT employees have so far participated in SIB visits around the UK and had the pleasure of seeing how their efforts improve the lives of tens of thousands of disabled and disadvantaged youngsters. The ground breaking programme forges even stronger ties between TNT employees and the youngsters who benefit from the support of Wooden Spoon.

Leanne Appleby, Birmingham Depot Secretary said, "Meeting everyone at Jane Lane School and seeing how our fundraising efforts are making a real difference to the children was an incredibly rewarding experience and one that I will always remember".

Chief Executive of Wooden Spoon Bill Hill said: "TNT is an outstanding partner to Spoon whose continued generosity over the years has greatly improved the lives of so many disadvantaged children.  This is a unique opportunity for their staff to see for themselves just how significant and invaluable their support is."

Alistair Cochrane, Managing Director of TNT Express Services commented: "We believe in putting something positive back into the communities in which we operate and Wooden Spoon is an ideal partner. We both have a great commitment to helping youngsters realise their full potential and supporting Spoon helps us deliver a feel-good factor to our employees."