Selco News

One of Coventry’s longest standing scout groups is undertaking a major refurbishment of its hut after more than 60 years in its current premises – and we are delighted to be supporting the project.

The 74th Coventry (Whitley) group has started work on the project to modernise the facilities at its base off Abbey Road.

Our Coventry branch donated £1,000 worth of building materials to the group which has 65 young people attending four groups each week.

On top of that and to cement our support, a team of 10 volunteers from our Support Centre and branch teams also visited the scout hut for a day to support with the ongoing works by building decking and two sheds.

Simon Caughey-Rogers, lead volunteer for 74th Coventry, said: “The scout group has been going since 1943 and we have been in our current hut since the 1960s.

“Inevitably over that time, the condition of the building has deteriorated and we need to carry out changes to make our facilities suitable for 21st century scouting.

“A couple of years ago, one of our leaders - Stanley Visley - sadly passed away and he left a small amount of money to the scout group which made the renovations something we could think about doing.

“We do, however, still need support from the community and the backing from Selco makes an absolutely massive difference.

“We are so grateful for the materials they have provided and then to have members of the team come down to volunteer was truly a fantastic gesture.

“Amongst the improvements we are making are building a new camp fire area, upgrading the storage areas so that we keep the kit we have in good condition and making the toilets accessible to all.

“It’s a big project but will enable us to future-proof the scout group for many years to come.”

The 74th Coventry group includes beavers, cubs and scouts, as well as playing host to the Godiva Explorers, and hosts meetings on three different nights each week.

Matt Hunt, branch manager of Selco Coventry which is based on Austin Drive, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the 74th Coventry group.

“It provides a fantastic service for the young people in and around Coventry and supporting its quest to create a new hut is something we are very proud to be a part of.

“Any initiative which helps secure the long-term future of community organisations such as scout groups is something we see as vitally important.

“We were determined to support the group with materials and it was also fantastic that members of the team from the branch joined forces with our colleagues from marketing to put in a hard day’s volunteering to support the ongoing development of the hut.”

A Birmingham DIY skate park is expanding to make its facilities more accessible to a larger section of the local community – thanks to the help of one of our branches.

Based in Selly Oak, Bournbrook DIY Skate Park was the first facility of its kind to be officially opened by a council in the UK and is now set to increase its number of ramps and features to make its facilities more suitable for learners looking to take up the sport for the first time.

Our Stirchley branch, based on Charlotte Road, has donated bricks, cement and other materials which will be used to help provide additional ramps, banks and obstacles for skateboarders just taking up the sport to enjoy.

Berni Good, director of Birmingham Skate Spaces, a Community Interest Company which created the facility, said: “Since we opened in 2021, Selco has been one of our largest and most consistent supporters.

“This is the third time that we have received materials from Selco and each time they have helped us take the skate park to the next level.

“Our main priority in the short term is to build an extension to the skatepark to help ensure we are able to accommodate people just starting out on their skateboarding journey, as well as those who have great experience and ability.

“We will be installing two further ramps and features to add to what we already have to increase our offering to the Birmingham skateboarding community.

“Now skateboarding is an Olympic sport, there has been a surge in interest and we want to do everything we can to encourage people to participate.

“So much of what we have achieved would not have been possible without the support of Selco’s donations. We will be forever grateful as funding is very difficult to secure.”

Michael Mushen, branch manager of Selco Stirchley, said: “We have formed a close relationship with Berni and the Birmingham Skate Spaces team and it’s been fantastic to watch – and support – their progress.

“This latest donation will help the skate park continue to serve as a fantastic facility for the whole of Birmingham and will attract more skateboarders than ever before.

“We are delighted to support a free-to-access outdoor facility that enables people to learn a new activity in a safe location and be part of a thriving and growing community.”

We're proud to have cemented our position as one of the UK’s most engaging and enjoyable employers after being named the 11th Best Big Company To Work For in the Best Companies survey.

Best Companies is an independent award decided by the workplace surveys of thousands of companies measuring workplace culture and engagement, with employee feedback dictating the finishing positions of a business.

Sally Kerr, HR Director for Selco, said: “We're absolutely delighted to feature so highly in the Best Companies list for businesses with more than 2,000 staff and we are proud to be flying the flag for the builders' merchant sector.

“Best Companies is an extremely well-respected guide, so to feature so highly in rankings which are decided by direct feedback from colleagues is very pleasing.

“Our colleagues are our biggest asset and we will continue to work hard to enhance and improve the workplace, embedding a culture for all our people to enjoy a positive and enjoyable workplace environment.”

In 2024, we introduced a paid volunteer day for each of our near-3,000 colleagues, allowing each member of the workforce to take a normal working day away from the individual’s traditional environment to support a local good cause or project under full pay.

The ‘EarlyPay’ scheme, a financial wellbeing tool which allows colleagues access to wages they have already earned in advance of pay day, has also been launched.

Our commitment to offering colleagues career development opportunities has been enhanced further with the introduction of a Women in Leadership apprenticeship. More than 200 colleagues have now been involved in apprenticeship programmes since they were introduced.

We're proud and delighted to have achieved a double success at the prestigious Builders' Merchants Awards.

Friday’s showpiece event at the Park Plaza in Westminster Bridge saw us land the coveted National Builders' Merchant of the Year (51+branches) award.

The Community Initiative of the Year accolade also came our way thanks to our ever-growing Community Heroes scheme.

Around 2,000 community organisations across the UK submitted applications for the 2024 edition, which supported a dozen worthwhile causes right across the UK.

Frank Elkins, CEO of Selco, said: “We're all thrilled to have come away from the biggest celebration of our industry with two awards.

“The National Builders' Merchant of the Year prize is testament to the efforts and dedication of our near 3,000 colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure our customers are receiving the best possible service every day.

“We're also hugely grateful to our loyal and valued customers who visit our 75 branches and shop online, as well as our trusted network of suppliers who continue to show fantastic support.

“Community Heroes, meanwhile, has built a reputation as a campaign which makes a true difference to charities and community groups across the country, whether that be through our donations of building materials or the cash prizes following the public vote.

“Supporting local communities is a key part of our ethos and Community Heroes is the campaign which truly drives that mantra.

“While we're delighted at our successes, we're already planning for next year and beyond to continue to make Selco the go-to builders' merchant for the jobbing builder and other trade professionals.”

A new memorial garden has been constructed at a Denton school to remember a six-year-old pupil who died suddenly last year.

Milly-Rose Stirrup passed away less than 24 hours after complaining of belly ache, with doctors treating suspected sepsis. However, the cause of the sudden decline and death of Milly was a rare genetic condition called LPIN1.

Staff and pupils at Denton West End Primary School have been determined to mark the memory of Milly-Rose and decided to build a memorial garden.

Our Ashton branch helped ensure the project was completed as the school wished by donating several hundreds of pounds of materials, including sleepers, sand, stone and cement.

A spokesperson for Denton West End Primary, said: “The news of Milly-Rose hit everyone at the school incredibly hard and it’s been very difficult to try and move on.

“However, we were determined to mark Milly-Rose in the best way possible so we elected to build a special garden where children can sit and chat, read, play and remember their lovely friend.

“Milly-Rose was a wonderful girl, very popular with lots of friends and always smiling and we are confident that her legacy will live on.

“We are extremely grateful to Selco for the support they have provided with the garden.

“It has ensured we have been able to go above and beyond what we wanted to deliver and add little personal touches to the garden, such as a dog planter as she loved dogs so much.”

The garden is 7x5 metres and includes a memorial bench and plaque.

Kevin O’Rourke, branch manager of Selco Ashton based on Alexandria Drive, said: “Milly-Rose’s story has touched the entire community and our thoughts remain with her parents, family and friends.

“As soon as we heard about the memorial garden, we had no hesitation donating materials to help the school achieve its vision. We are delighted to have played a small part in creating an area which ensures Milly-Rose’s memory will live on.”

A Birmingham primary school is embracing the great outdoors by encouraging its pupils to grow their own fruit and vegetables – with the help of our Perry Barr branch.

Kingsland Primary School, based in Kingstanding, has created its own garden area for the children to enjoy all the benefits of being self-sufficient.

We donated all the materials for 11 gardening troughs, while our team at Perry Barr also built the structures so the children could utilise them straight away.

Nathan Allsopp, deputy headteacher of the school which has around 350 pupils, said: “We have developed an Eco Plan over the last year and at the heart of that is sustainability.

“We want children to understand that food isn’t just something you buy from a supermarket and giving them the chance to grow their own fruit and vegetables is a fantastic way of doing that.

“There will also be some of our pupils who don’t have a garden at home so having this facility provides another important life experience for them.

“We have already started growing carrots, potatoes, strawberries and a range of herbs, including mint, lavender and fennel.

“The children are getting a real excitement from their time in the garden and we are hugely grateful to Selco for their support.

“Without their materials – and the team physically constructing the gardening troughs – there is no way we could have made this whole project work.”

Amongst the materials we supplied were timber, decking boards, fence posts and compost.

Malcolm Greenslade, branch manager of Selco Perry Barr based on Walsall Road, said: “Sustainability is a key focus for us at Selco so the plans Kingsland Primary School have put in place really resonated with us.

“We were delighted to help with both materials and manpower in terms of putting the gardening troughs together and it was fantastic to visit the school and see how much joy the children were getting from the garden area.”

A junior football club in Leeds is hoping to top the league both on and off the pitch after receiving support from one of our branches in the city.

Beeston Juniors has been a focal point of the grassroots sporting community in Leeds since 1986 and currently has 10 boys and girls teams between the age groups of under sevens and under 16s.

The clubhouse and pavilion at its Cardinal Square headquarters have been in need of renovation in recent times and we have provided paint and accessories to enable the facility to be freshened up visually.

Lee Horsman, club secretary of Beeston Juniors, said: “We are hugely grateful to Selco for the donation they have provided.

“Running a grassroots football club is very costly and the facilities at the pitches can often be neglected to ensure the youngsters are out on the pitch playing the sport they love.

“Selco’s donation has allowed us to spruce up our clubhouse and help make it a more welcoming environment for both our players and their families.

“We’ve been a big part of the local community since 1986 and donations such as this will ensure we are able to continue providing a service to local youngsters who want to be part of a football club.”

Around 200 children a week attend football training and games at Beeston Juniors, including a soccer school for children aged between five and six.

We have two branches in Leeds, one on Elland Road and one in Roundhay.

Chris Lowry, branch manager at Roundhay, said: “We were only too happy to support the volunteers, players and parents at Beeston Juniors.

“We know it’s a big part of the local community and provides a real opportunity for youngsters to start out on their footballing experiences from a young age.

“The club does fantastic work and we hope our donation has played a part in helping achieve their mission of renovating their facilities.”

Our Leicester branch has helped green-fingered residents improve their mental health by supporting a local charity’s new allotment project.

Communities Food and Wellbeing Hub (CFWH) supports more than 5,000 residents from diverse backgrounds across Loughborough and Leicester each year, through a variety of schemes for people of school age right through to senior citizens.

Our Leicester branch, based on Parker Drive, has provided support to the charity through donations of concrete ballast and cement to help develop an allotment project where residents will plant fruit and vegetables using raised planting beds, while also helping disability access to the site.

Dr Annette Durant, chief executive of CFWH, said: “We are hugely grateful to Selco for their support in helping us to get our allotment project up and running.

“The aim of our charity is to help the increasing number of people who are battling stress and anxiety and to try and address the reasons through a number of different schemes.

“We run hubs for food, health and wellbeing support for individuals, provide school holiday hunger family packages, facilitate health and wellbeing sessions with doctors and many other different services.

“The idea around the allotment project is to encourage people to leave their home, socialise with others and have all the benefits of being in the open air and a friendly environment. We really think it will make a huge difference to the lives of people, especially those feeling isolated.”

The Hilltop Allotment Society plots being utilised for the project are based on Headland Road.

Daniel Grainger, deputy branch manager at Selco Leicester, said: “Communities Food and Wellbeing Hub does wonderful work in the local area, supporting people from a range of different backgrounds through difficult times.

“We're delighted to be backing a project which will make a tangible difference to people’s lives.”

A leading London hospice is celebrating after winning building materials to improve its facilities.

The famous St Christopher’s Hospice in Sydenham has secured £500 to spend at Selco Builders Warehouse through our Community Heroes campaign.

And the hospice – which has been credited as a significant influence on modern global hospice philosophy - will also be one of 12 finalists gunning for the top prize of £5,000 in cash when a public vote opens shortly.

John Vickers, Director of Finance and Corporate Services at St Christopher's, said: “We are very grateful to Selco for their tremendous support. Every donation we receive makes a difference to the people we care for.

“We deliver vital end of life care services to over 6,000 people in our local community each year.

“We are currently refurbishing our inpatient unit, which offers 24/7 care and had 650 patients last year.

“We are making the wards more dementia-friendly with colour-coding, call alarms, increased space, storage units and improved lighting. It’s all about creating a more welcoming and less clinical environment.

“We will be pushing hard to win the top prize when the voting opens soon.”

There were almost 2,000 entries to Community Heroes this year.

Simon Humpage, Head of Multi-Channel Marketing at Selco, said: “Community Heroes continues to go from strength to strength and it is always extraordinarily difficult to select our 12 finalists.

“St Christopher’s stood out due to the huge number of people it supports and its commitment to constant improvement. It’s a privilege to be able to help such a good cause.

“We are looking forward to the Community Heroes voting process starting soon and to finding out who will be our 2024 champion.”

A hostel for teenage girls in Manchester has received our help to provide a safe and comfortable environment.

Contact Hostel, in Whalley Range, has secured £500 worth of materials through our Community Heroes campaign.

The hostel provides a safe home environment for teenage girls who are facing homelessness, caring for up to nine people at any one time.

Helen Gazard, Fundraising Partner at Contact Hostel, said: “We are delighted to receive the support of Selco. Maintaining our living areas and providing a home for vulnerable teenage girls when they need it most is our top priority and help like this is always very welcome.

“We also support the girls to access education, employment or training. Every resident has their own bedroom and access to our comfy living room, our communal kitchen, our newly renovated bathrooms and a dedicated learning hub.

“We look forward to visiting the Selco branch in Ardwick and selecting the materials we need.”

There might be even better news ahead for Contact Hostel, which will now also be a Community Heroes finalist with the chance of winning the £5,000 top prize, or £1,000 as a runner-up.

Contact Hostel will battle it out against the other 11 finalists, with the winner decided by a public vote on our website.

Simon Humpage, Head of Multi-Channel Marketing at Selco, said: “We have supported some incredible groups through Community Heroes this year, and Contact Hostel certainly falls into that category.

“The charity does amazing work in helping these young women get back on their feet. It’s a privilege to be able to help.

“We are looking forward to the Community Heroes voting process starting soon and to finding out who will be our 2024 champion.”