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Young apprentice Calum Baker is certainly leading the way in setting an example of his healthy lifestyle to his Vallectric site colleagues and others within the local Barnet community. His daily run into work not only promotes the benefits of invigorating exercise but also enables him to make his contribution to the environment through his own reduction in carbon footprint. Well done, Calum.

Leading by Example.... Lane Abrahams, one of Vallectric’s long-standing Site Managers, has taken it upon himself to cycle between sites on the Royal Borough of Greenwich Framework scheme, to reduce our carbon footprint and to improve his own physical condition and mental wellbeing.

Vallectric’s Longford Court site team were looking pretty in pink to help raise £250 for Breast Cancer Now and their “Wear It Pink” initiative during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Management Support, Jazz Cooper and RLO, Michelle McGovern who are 15 and 7 years cancer free respectively, both welcomed the opportunity to join in with fundraising and spoke about the importance of raising awareness. Jazz commented, since being diagnosed in 2009 I have been heavily involved in fundraising for cancer charities and celebrated my 10 year ‘cancerversary’ by being a model at the 2019 #BreastCancerNow Fashion Show. Volunteering, climbing Ben Nevis and walking 26 miles for #MacmillanCancerSupport, also gave me the opportunity to meet our now King, CharlesIII! The help I and my family received from these charities was amazing and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to give back! RLO Michelle commented, I was a busy working mum of two teenagers when I felt a lump in my armpit, because it wasn’t “pea sized” - which is what I always thought you had to look out for - I left it a while before having it checked. Awareness months and days like #WearItPink really do make the difference between someone catching a problem early and surviving or not!

The giant cheque was out again this time for a donation to Barnet Mencap. Vallectric Limited's Operations Manager Jason Oakford was on hand to present the cheque to Project Support Officer Vicknes Sivaraman and spent some time with the team at Barnet Mencap’s Head Office hearing just how the donation would be spent. Jason commented, it was a pleasure to meet some of the team at Mencap, Fundraising and Grants Officer, Nadia Topper, explained how the donated money had been set aside to put towards respite holidays for the families and carers of service users. Vallectric reached out to Mencap, who support children and adults with learning difficulties as well as their families, after hearing about the wide range of services they provide for local people in need. Parenting programmes and workshops, advice on employment and housing and an Autism Hub are just some of the services offered and Vallectric are extremely pleased to be able to contribute to such a worthy cause within the Barnet Community.

Vallectric Ltd’s RLO Michelle McGovern spent an informative and humbling afternoon at Homeless Action in Barnets Head Office last week alongside The Barnet Groups Customer Involvement and Social Value Officer Charmaine Carr and Customer Engagement Co-ordinator Deborah Beckford. After spending time volunteering at the centre Deborah and Charmaine became aware that a number of the centres service users were in real need of some new and more robust sleeping bags. Vallectric were more than happy to fund these and 30 new sleeping bags alongside waterproof ground mats were delivered to the centre last week. Centre Co-ordinator Olamide Adetunji commented: We at HAB want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Vallectric for their generous and benevolent donation of sleeping bags. These will greatly benefit our service users experiencing homelessness by providing essential warmth and comfort. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Vallectric were delighted to donate £3000 to our neighbours at one of our latest ERM and Fire Safety Works projects for valued client Barnet Homes. Based just down the road from our site office, The Rainbow Centre on Dollis Valley Drive is an amazing community hub run by even more amazing staff and volunteers. Director Steve and Manager Sarah along with their team of volunteers offer a wide variety of services to local people including a school holiday club where the children who attend receive a hot meal as well as a lunch club for the elderly who receive the same. A big part of The Rainbow Centres week is the Thursday foodbank where Manager Sarah has seen the numbers of people attending rising week on week. Sarah stated “we would all like to say the biggest thankyou to all at Vallectric for this extremely welcome donation. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the foodbank and will also allow us to hopefully organise a coach trip for local children during the summer holidays. I would like to personally thank Michelle for the support she has shown for the centre and we will definitely be keeping in touch. Thank you all again. Vallectric's RLO, Michelle McGovern commented, we are over the moon to be able to support The Rainbow Centre, the work Sarah, Steve and all the ladies and gents who help out put in is incredible! James and I have thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the centre and will definitely be popping in for tea again soon.

It was the end of a busy month for our RLO Jenny Lucas as she took her last monitored steps for #ActiveApril this morning. Jenny decided to use the #ActiveApril scheme to raise money and awareness in support of Bowel Cancer UK after our colleague Paul Nickson was diagnosed in 2022. Paul has since successfully completed all his treatment making a full recovery and returning to work full time at the beginning of the year. To say we are proud of both Jenny and Paul is an understatement!

Vallectric Ltd continues to play their part in the local community within the Royal Borough of Greenwich with a further recent donation of £1000 to The Greenwich Foodbank. Reliance upon the Foodbank managed by C.E.O. Jamie Ginns (pictured on the right with Vallectric’s Social Value Co-ordinator Bob Wilde on the left) has escalated on the back of the recent global economic downturn and current inflation, with something like 130,000 food parcels expected to be distributed this year.

Best foot forward for the charity Diabetes UK…. Vallectric employee Jenny Lucas pictured completing her 1 million steps challenge during July – September this year. Some of her colleagues were there to spur Jenny on and see her completion of this fine achievement. Vallectric were proud to support Jenny in her efforts to raise money for such a worthy charity.

Vallectric site staff at Barnet Homes St. Johns Close site seen here turning over their coffee break in support of the MacMillan National Coffee Morning on Friday 24/09/21. Cakes and coffee were in plenty of supply and a health donation will be winging it’s way to this worthy and deserving charity.

Stepping up for dementia…  Mandy Williamson as she raises funds for the Alzheimer's Society by completing 850,000 steps in the first 3 months of 2021. Vallectric were proud to support Mandy in her efforts to raise money to aid dementia sufferers who were hit particularly hard by the impact of the Coronavirus lockdowns.

While visiting our Greenwich sites, our Social Value Co-ordinator, Bob Wilde had a chance meeting with Kevin McBrien, the Centre Manager of the Clockhouse Community Centre. Always keen to help with the local community where we can, we offered our support to the training facility by supplying much needed desks and folding tables.   If you wish to get more of an insight into the various activities that go on at the centre, their website address is clockhousecc.org.uk

As one of the Royal Borough of Greenwich's ERM Framework Partners, Vallectric Limited have continued to support the local community and regional businesses. Aware of the need to support local foodbanks at this time of year, and especially in these exceptional times, Vallectric have contributed £1,000 to the Greenwich Foodbank Fund. The donation means that a large number of people across the borough will get the help they so desperately need during this crisis. Pictured are Jamie Ginns, Greenwich Foodbank; Bob Wilde, Vallectric

COVID-19 is having a significant impact on all of us, whether at home or at work. Sadly many Barnet residents have lost their income, struggling financially, lacking food to feed their families or can afford to buy daily essentials. The Community Response Fund supports trusted local organisations in Barnet to provide frontline support to those most in need. As part of our investment and commitment to the communities where we work, we have donated £1,000 toward the fund.

Vallectric were extremely proud to be one of the sponsors of last Fridays Your Choice Barnet awards which were held to celebrate service users with a range of physical and learning disabilities across the Borough of Barnet. Attending on behalf of Vallectric was RLO Michelle McGovern who commented, “It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to this fabulously organised event for the service users of YCB. There were many worthy winners across the afternoon, and everyone looked fabulous for the occasion! It was lovely to see so many people up singing and dancing and having a great time! Thank you very much for the invite to such a wonderful day. A very big congratulations to all the winners and everyone involved in this superb event.

Vallectric were once again proud to be one of the main sponsors of The Barnet Groups Annual Community Awards – 2023. Representing Vallectric this year, were our Site Supervisor James Haynes, and Resident Liaison Officer Michelle McGovern. James conveyed “It was a superb evening and really pleasing to see those within the Barnet community being commended for their efforts and contributions. On a personal note, both Michelle and I would like to thank everyone for being so welcoming and we even got introduced to the Lord Major Nagus Narenthira, who was lovely. “

Continuing to encourage the contractors working currently with the Barnet Group, Charmaine Carr – Customer Involvement and Social Value drew Vallectric and FUSE together, with Vallectric providing sponsorship for a 5th Year FUSE anniversary community event, held on the 19.01.24, at the RAF Museum in Colindale. In attendance for Vallectric was their Resident Liaison Office, Michelle McGovern, and their senior apprentice Calum Baker. Michelle, commented, “FUSE is a fantastic forum to assist with reaching out to the younger members of the Barnet community. We feel privileged to have been the main sponsors of the event, and we wish to pass on our sincere thanks, as we felt warmly welcomed by the impressively dynamic Harriet Boamah, and all those families and young people attending. It was also really good fun!”

Vallectric Limited are delighted to have sponsored the Exhibitor Marketplace at this year’s Barnet Together Alliance Conference. The conference, held on Monday 2nd October 2023 at the RAF Museum; Hendon, was primarily focused on educating those present on the inequalities rooted in our society. Vallectric’s representative for the day was Managing Director Greg Slater, who commented “It was a pleasure to attend the Barnet Together Alliance Conference 2023 and meet the most amazing people and organisations, all of whom were so engaging and clearly passionate about positively contributing to the Barnet community. It was a humbling experience. We at Vallectric look forward to continuing to offer our support, via our established working relationship with Tim Blanc and Charmaine Carr of the The Barnet Group Community Engagement Team and to all residing within the borough.”

Vallectric Limited are not only content with the standard of work delivered for their clients, Vallectric are also keen to support the communities in which they work, Helping to improve the quality of life for residents. Vallectric are a main sponsor of The Barnet Group annual community awards. Our social value coordinator Bob Wilde can be seen here (Extreme right) in attendance at this year's presentation held in January to present the 2022 awards.

Our Operations Manager Jason Oakford presenting the Your Choice Barnet Making Progress Award to deserving winner Sarah Okeke-Aru at The Barnet Group 2019 Customer Awards. Sarah was given the award in recognition of her outstanding progress at Rosa Morison, a day service for adults with profound and complex learning disabilities.

Jason Oakford (our London based Operations Manager) presents Keanu Hamm with award for Young Volunteer of the Year, an award for unsung heroes under the age of 25 whose achievement, dedication, or good neighbourliness deserve recognition in the local community.

At Vallectric we know that our work isn’t just about buildings or projects – it’s about the people and communities we serve. Recently our RLO Peter Harrison was able to lend a hand to some local residents at Capel Court by walking their beloved dogs when they were unable to. For us, it’s the small, meaningful ways we can help that build true community connections.

As part of our community support in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Vallectric have recently been assisting the North Kensington Community Kitchen. Van driver Daren Relph has been helping volunteers every Wednesday delivering food to local children and isolated residents living below the poverty line in the area. Daren conveyed: It really has been my pleasure to help out with the deliveries alongside Marcus and Cliff, we have been doing a couple of runs each week delivering to local nurseries and hubs in the area, the community spirit and support has been fantastic.

Our green fingered Senior RLO Jenny Lucas, wasted no time in organising a mini makeover for the garden at Tadbourne Court where she is currently based whilst overseeing multiple works across 90+ properties for Vallectric Ltd’s valued client Barnet Homes. After conversations with residents who commented on the tired looking outdoor space, Jen got to work in her break time transforming the flower beds as well as digging out and relocating shrubs that were due to be disturbed by trenching works. Residents were extremely impressed with the end results and have been regularly enjoying a morning chat together in the revamped outdoor space as much as the great British summer time has allowed! Another fan of Jennys work has been a new regular to the garden who you may be able to spot in the centre picture! Well done, Jen, a fantastic job!

The sun was shining for our St Georges Day celebrations held with the residents of Tadbourne Court where Vallectric are currently carrying out ERM replacements and various other works on behalf of our valued client Barnet Homes. Afternoon tea was on the menu with lots of music and laughter and a great time was had by all. This was the first time some of the residents had met or interacted with their neighbours and now plans for a weekly coffee afternoon in the lounge are well under way. Barnet Homes’ Desmond Burgess Electrical Supervisor was also in attendance as well as Resident Liaison Officers Jenny Lucas and Michelle McGovern and Site Manager James Haynes who commented on the successful celebrations. “It was lovely to see the residents of Tadbourne Court enjoying chatting and getting to know each other. A few of the residents asked if we would leave the bunting up on display as it brightened the room and there was a great excitement about future plans and get togethers” We all look forward to joining the residents for a cup of tea again very soon.

Vallectric Site Manager James Haynes, currently working across various locations within Barnet completing ERM improvements works, was given the role of Easter Bunny this year delivering raffle prizes to 6 winners in total. 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes were distributed to winners across our Barnet works where Vallectric have been carrying out Fire Safety Works, Electrical Rising Mains replacements, Communal Lighting and various multiple other works. A special runner up prize was also delivered to one of Barnets younger residents, the delightful Charlie, seen here receiving his prize and modelling his new Easter hat! For clarification Charlie is pictured on the left. Charlies Mum Sarah thanked the team for the surprise delivery and had high praise for the work carried out in her home. She stated “I’d like to thank your guys for all their hard work, they had lots to do in my home and were always clean, tidy, and polite. They were also happy to work around my commitments to work and nursery runs which I really appreciated”.

In preparation for World Recycling Day Vallectric's teams have taken to the streets of Barnet with their litter pickers and rubbish bags. Over the last 8 weeks, lunch and tea breaks have been forfeited in the challenge to collect as many bags of recyclable material as possible before March 18th. Some 24 bags of rubbish were collected in total, weighing in at 194kg, 43% of which was recyclable! Resident Liaison Officers Jenny Lucas and Michelle McGovern pictured here both thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about and received lots of words of encouragement from local residents which certainly helped on the rainier days! Keeping our sites and the areas surrounding them clean and tidy is important to Vallectric as is recycling and monitoring our own site waste. Our waste management stats from the same 8 week period show that 92% of our site waste was recycled.

Whilst working on the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Communal Electrics and Re-Decoration Framework, Vallectric have donated and delivered to Crook Log’s Primary School, Bexleyheath some empty wooden cable drums for their Forest School Area. Headmistress, Linda Swain, thanked our Site Manager, Lane Abrahams for the kind donation, and conveyed that the cable drums had been put to good use as outdoor work benches, a rocking chair, a den for birds, and a table for making mud cakes! Vallectric’s Operations Director, Jason Oakford, commented that “ We are pleased to have again been able to offer a contribution to the Greenwich community, and it is fantastic to see these items being put to such good use and the children enjoying outdoor activities. The making of mud pies looks to be popular!”

Working in conjunction with The Barnet Groups Residents Liaison Officer (RLO), Angela Wigg and their Customer Involvement and Social Value Officer Charmaine Carr, Vallectric’s RLO’s Jenny Lucas and Michelle McGovern organised a serious of festive afternoon tea parties for the Resident’s of 14 Barnet Homes Sheltered Homes Blocks. Vallectric’s Senior RLO, Jenny Lucas, commented, “It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with the lovely Residents, whom we have forged a strong bond with, over the time we have spent working in and around their homes. We all enjoyed afternoon tea and festive cakes, sang along to the Christmas music, and played board games, which was so nice at this time of year.”

This year Vallectric Limited donated the Christmas tree to the Hanshaw Drive residents. It is traditional for the residents to decorate the tree. It seems this year that Marge Lacey (left) and Audrey Weaver (right) moved on from decorating the tree and added some festive trim to our Site Manager James Haynes, which he seems pleased about. Thanks ladies.

Vallectric were more than happy to donate some unwanted used pallets and wooden cable drums to the gardeners at Rathbone Allotments in Barnet. The gardeners have been looking for wood to construct individual plots and furniture, so the donation was gratefully received. Here we see Goursen Ibrahim, one of the enthusiastic gardeners, receiving part of the donation, from James Hayes Site Supervisor for Vallectric.

As a thank you to residents of the Barnet Homes Hanshaw Drive Estate for their patience and forbearance whilst recent works were being carried out around them, Vallectric Ltd arranged and sponsored a Friday fish & Chips lunch which was well received and thoroughly enjoyed by all. The work carried out within the sheltered accommodation blocks included: Architectural Works, Trenching, Door Installations, Flat entry Communal Fire Doors, Electrical Intake Cupboards, Decorations to Communal Walls and Ceilings. Fire Safety Works including installation of Sprinkler Systems & install of MDF Boxing.

When it came to emptying out the furniture provided for residents in the temporary accommodation made available whilst work was being undertaken in their own properties, Keith Hunt (Centre) a resident at Barnet Homes St. Johns Close was in the right place at the right time. Keith’s own settee had passed its useful life and he was in need of a replacement. It therefore seemed a worthy cause for Vallectric to donate the settee that they were moving out. I think that we can tell from the picture featured here what Keith’s reaction was.

Approaching completion of the £2m ERM and Fire Safety Project for Barnet Homes at St. John’s Close, the Vallectric team recently sponsored a Fish & Chip meal for residents as a thank you for their patience and forbearance during the period the work was being carried out. To keep numbers manageable and for convenience of residents the meal was served in a few sittings such as the one pictured here.

A team of Vallectric site operatives at the Barnet Homes St. Johns Close site, recently gave up their time voluntarily, to help residents with those ‘odd Jobs’ needing to be done. The Vallectric team are pictured here ready to set about their tasks which included picture hanging, putting up shelving, putting up blinds, painting walls, carpet laying, washing and rehanging curtains.   Needless to say, the day was well received, and the work completed was much appreciated by the Barnet Homes residents.

The Vallectric Limited team working in Greenwich, along with Aimi Weaver, Royal Borough of Greenwich RLO, donned their Santa hats, grabbed their litter pickers and black bags and set to work tidying the area around one of the blocks.   Site Manager, Lane Abrahams commented: ‘As a team, including Aimi, we wanted to improve the area for the residents, the best way we could help and have an immediate impact was on the cleanliness of the area. We got into the Christmas spirit and all became litter pickers for the day.’

  Vallectric provided the materials and assisted a resident team (led by  Paul Smith, pictured) to landscape the pond area of Vale Court to provide a welcoming outdoor relaxation area for all residents to escape the rigours of indoor life during lockdown.

If we can provide a little joy in lockdown, we will. Our RLO Michelle McGovern surprises Peter Townend with box of chocolate biscuits for his birthday. All done with social distancing, of course!

It’s time for tea at Vale Court, Barnet. Residents at the sheltered block are pictured below enjoying a cuppa with Vallectric’s Senior Resident Liaison Officer, Jenny Lucas. Our staff are busy making sure the works are of the highest quality, but there’s always time for a quick tea break with residents. It’s a good opportunity to catch up, discuss the works and update them on our progress.

At Vallectric Limited, we take our commitment to the environment very seriously. This pictures, taken at The Oaks in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, show Site Manager Lane Abrahams leading the team on a litter-picking day.

Keen gardener Tony Smith is delighted with the new garden shed at his home in Vale Court, Barnet, which was bought for residents by Vallectric. Space was limited on site and the temporary site office prevented access to the residents’ garden store. To ensure the flowers continued to bloom, Vallectric provided Tony with a new shed. Site Manager Julian Griffin (pictured left with Tony Smith) said: “We know how much the garden means to residents so we were only too happy to help out.”

Vallectric Limited were excited to have had the opportunity to sponsor F.U.S.E in funding their incredible festival last weekend! The event was a huge success, bringing together young people from all over the borough to celebrate their creativity, talents, and community spirit. In attendance for Vallectric were RLO Michelle McGovern and apprentices Calum Baker and Tayla McGovern who were also joined by Barnet Homes Customer Involvement and Social Officer Charmaine Carr and lots of fun was had by all! Michelle commented “Seeing the energy, enthusiasm, and collaboration during the festival was truly inspiring, and we’re proud to have played a part in making it happen a big thank you to Harrier Boamah for organizing such a fantastic event, and to everyone who participated and made it memorable. We look forward to seeing how these young people continue to shine!” F.U.S.E Managing Director Harriet Boamah commented "We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Vallectric for their incredible support which allowed us to deliver FUSE Fest 2024. Their financial contribution and belief in us as an organisation played a key role in making the event a success, and we are truly grateful for their partnership."

Vallectric were proud to be the main sponsor of The Barnet Basketball Festival held on Sunday the 8th of September at the home of the Barnet Bulldogs, Copthall Leisure Centre. In attendance from Vallectric were RLO Michelle McGovern and apprentices Rodney Fuster and Tayla McGovern as well as Barnets Charmaine Carr and Calista Massia. Michelle commented, “What a great event this was, it was a pleasure to see player/coach Chuck Duru in action and I didn’t realize just how physical basketball was! The Bulldogs and their supporters were a great bunch, and we all had a fantastic time."

Vallectris’s RLO Michelle McGovern organized an Ice Cream Van day for the Longford Court residents. In attendance was Vallectric’s MD, Greg Slater, who found that it is not as easy as it looks pulling ice creams as he helps serve our RLO Michelle McGovern a well-deserved ice cream on a very hot Wednesday afternoon. Michelle conveyed “I have had the pleasure of working with the wonderful Longford Court residents on 3 occasions now, and they make me genuinely feel part of their community. With the challenging emergency mechanical repair project, which we are currently undertaking, combined with the incredibly hot weather, I wanted to do something that was simple, fun and a pleasure for the residents, so I decided ice cream was it! The turnout was great, we had fantastic representation from the Barnet Homes team, and Building Safety Manager, Jay Howlett pulled some strings to arrange for the local fire brigade Hendon Green Watch to be in attendance. It was a splendid afternoon, with lots of laughter and community engagement, a memorable event that I will cherish"

As a thank you and to spread Christmas cheer to the residence of the Orchard Estate Vallectric held a Christmas raffle seen here is one of our lucky winners accepting their prize.

Vallectric Ltd in company with Barnet Homes Executives and Residents celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 70th Jubilee Year. As a memento of the occasion, Vallectric had some special medals created which they awarded to selected residents in recognition of their positive actions benefiting the local community.

Spreading Joy at Christmas amongst Barnet Homes residents, at two of their sites; (Granville Road ) and (St. John’s Close ) seen here, some of the gifts distributed as raffle prizes to the lucky winners.

In recognition of the patience and forbearance shown by residents whilst fire safety works were carried out to their properties, and to introduce some early Christmas spirit, the Vallectric team working at Longford Court and Upper Fosters initiated a series of Prize draw raffles with Christmas gifts being given away to the lucky winners.   Ian Woollard, Barnet Homes’ Project Manager for both blocks, drew the winning tickets. Vallectric Limited provided the Christmas gifts.

Vallectric, Mears and WG Wigginton’s (and the local pub Gertie Brown and Universal Laundry) collectively made a generous donation of £500, which went towards the annual Sheltered Housing Easter Tea Dance on 16th April. This type of event really helps older people in the court benefit from that all-important social interaction. Full story

Not your usual meal for a Christmas Party, but fish & chips proved to be a great success at this party organised for the residents by our RLO team.