A team of volunteers from Tarmac recently swapped their usual day jobs for gardening gloves, paint brushes and power tools, as they spent the day helping to transform the Tilbury Sea Scouts’ community facilities.
The volunteering day, hosted by Thurrock CVS, saw Tarmac colleagues roll up their sleeves to carry out a series of improvement works at the Scout hut, which provides a safe and supportive space for young people to learn vital life skills. With determination and teamwork, the volunteers tackled a range of tasks from clearing overgrown weeds and removing debris, to painting the indoor hall and restoring outdoor features including a bench and two canoe planters.
The result is a brighter, safer, and more welcoming space that the Sea Scouts can continue to enjoy for years to come.
The volunteering day forms part of Tarmac’s wider commitment to making a positive difference in the communities where it operates. By supporting local groups and organisations, Tarmac aims to help create thriving, resilient communities that offer opportunities for everyone.
The team’s efforts were also supported by Biffa, who generously provided a skip to enable the safe removal of waste and debris as part of the clean-up.
Denis O’Callaghan, Business Performance Director at Tarmac, said: “It was fantastic to see the team come together and make a real, visible difference to the Tilbury
Sea Scouts’ facilities. Volunteering days like this give us the chance to directly support the communities where we live and work, and I’m incredibly proud of what the team achieved in such a short space of time. We hope the improvements we made will help the Sea Scouts continue to provide young people with great experiences for many years to come.”
Ian Newell, volunteer Scout Leader, said: “Tilbury Sea Scout Group are eternally grateful to Jacqui Payne and Erika McCusker from Thurrock CVS for their huge support and arranging for the work to tidy our Scout Hut and Site.
“Ben and the members from Tarmac were awesome. They threw themselves into the job making such light work of the huge task to rescue our overgrown site. They gave up their own time to help us. We would also like to thank Richard from Biffa.
“I was amazed at the fantastic transformation, which is something that we could not possibly hope to achieve ourselves. Our site looks really tidy now. The work was carried out with a very selfless and caring attitude, which is rather rare in our current world.”
Jacqui Payne, Head of Infrastructure & Community Development, at Thurrock CVS, said: “A team from Tarmac took part in a community volunteering day for the Tilbury Sea Scouts, which was organised by Thurrock CVS, a local infrastructure organisation and volunteer centre in Thurrock.
“The Tarmac team were marvellous and made a significant impact to the garden area and community hall, assisting with clearing the site, cutting back hedging and brambles, removing weeds, painting the hall and bench and more. Everyone from Tarmac actively engaged in the day and made a huge difference.
“Tarmac kindly provided materials such as the paint and other supplies, and Biffa, one of the local contractors, arranged for a skip and the removal of an old fridge. The sea scout leader was over the moon with the end result and commented that parts of the site hadn’t looked that way for more than 18 years!”
Richard Smith, Corporate Account Manager at Biffa, said: “We take great pride at Biffa in aiding our customers beyond our core services. Supporting Tarmac with this project offered a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference in the community. Minimising the environmental impact of waste while building stronger, more resilient communities is a vital part of our ethos, so we’re proud to have worked alongside Tarmac in enhancing this local space to support future generations.”
