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BIRKENHEAD MP
OPENS NEW CHARITY STORE AT PYRAMIDS SHOPPING CENTRE
POPULAR Birkenhead MP Frank
Field has officially opened a major new charity store at the town's
Pyramids Shopping Centre. The new St Vincent De Paul (SVP)
store was opened by the veteran MP and blessed as well and Frank
Field said:- "This is a hugely important development that will
help vulnerable people in Birkenhead and beyond.“
The shop will offer good quality second hand items from beds and
3-piece suites down to DVDs and CDs as well as clothing and white
goods and will provide household items for those who wouldn't
otherwise be able to afford them.
SVP dates back over 200 years and emanated from the Catholic Church
with which it retains strong links and every year its 350 volunteers
across 14 furniture projects in England and Wales make over 10,000
deliveries and collections to individuals and families in need.
The new store is the second in the Wirral area with an existing shop
in Wallasey and David Foster of SVP said:- "We're delighted to
be opening in Birkenhead because we receive a lot of support in the
area. We operate a distribution centre for furniture and
household items for people in need and also sell second hand
furniture, white goods, clothing and basically all those things that
make a house a home all at affordable prices. We sell affordable
everyday items and the funds we generate locally are invested
locally. We have helped people who have lost everything in a
fire to people who need help getting to hospital. We have been
open in the Pyramids Centre for 3 weeks now and it's gone very well.
We used to have a presence in Birkenhead on the edge of the town
centre but we were very keen to get into the shopping centre and
this is a much better location for us. The Centre have been
very helpful and Frank Field has been very supportive of us and
we're very grateful to him for coming to open the new shop.“
Derek Millar, Manager of the Pyramids Shopping Centre, said:-
"The shopping centre is at the heart of the Birkenhead community and
is the main shopping centre on the Wirral so it is the ideal
location for a fantastic charity such as this which works so hard to
support needy people in the area.
We are delighted to play our part in bringing this charity service
to the people of Birkenhead and the store's opening follows on from
a bumper set of new businesses joining the centre.
In the last few months, we have welcomed Roman, Our Beautiful Life
fashion boutique and Mi Wardrobe and soon, expanding fashion
jewellery chain Mococo will be opening up.“
The new SVP store is appealing for stock and while smaller items can
be left at the store, larger items will be picked up, call them on:-
151 647 8599.
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Liverpool aiming
for WorldHost City Region status with training push
THE Liverpool City Region
is aiming to become the first area in Great Britain to gain
WorldHost City Region status by training over 3,500 workers from
businesses and organisations in transport, tourism and the visitor
economy by the end of July.
Over 130 businesses have already taken advantage of the free course
for their employees, co-ordinated by Merseytravel and delivered by a
network of accredited training providers at venues across the city
region.
The training aims to refresh or improve their customer service
skills and make sure guests visiting the region for big events
including the International Festival for Business and the Open
Championship are given the best possible welcome.
Originally developed in Vancouver, Canada to support customer
service for visitors to the region, World Host training was used to
train the hugely successful "Gamesmakers" at the London 2012
Olympics.
Delegates arriving for the Festival, which started on Monday, 9 June
2014,
have been able to get advice and information on the city region from
volunteers wearing distinctive purple uniforms, who have also
undergone the WorldHost training course.
Funding for the courses has come from an Employer Ownership Fund
grant administered through the Skills for Growth Bank, which was
granted to Merseytravel, Liverpool ONE and Visit Liverpool as an
employer partnership.
Free training opportunities are still available until the end of
June and Sara Carthy, Support Services Director at Liverpool ONE,
who are driving the IFB 2014 welcome programme, is encouraging
businesses to make the most of the opportunity to allow their
employees to improve their skills.
"Liverpool is known worldwide as one of the friendliest cities
and the WorldHost scheme is an excellent way of enhancing service
quality across the region.
Developing your team will not only give them the knowledge and
skills to welcome international visitors, it will also improve
motivation and moral, helping them deliver the very best for your
organisation.
Liverpool ONE is delighted to be driving the programme, which will
benefit individuals, businesses and the city region as a whole."
The training is still open to employers across the city, free of
charge. Carol Williams, HR Director at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
is encouraging other businesses and organisations to follow their
lead and take advantage:
“The training has been extremely useful for staff to improve
customer service skills, from those working in ground handling to
retailers and caterers; all roles which can impact on the journey
experience. It has been a useful way for workers across the airport
to learn more about what's happening across the Liverpool City
Region and It has also helped the 'airport community' all work
together and share our experiences, which we don't often have the
opportunity to do.“
Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- "It's
fantastic that so many businesses have recognised the value of
giving their employees the opportunity to get the internationally
recognised WorldHost training to improve their customer service
skills. Not only does it help their businesses to perform
better, but also gives a great impression of the Liverpool City
Region which will encourage people to return in the future.“
WorldHost training involves a range of different programmes,
including the basics principles of customer service, ambassador
workshops, customers with disabilities and service across cultures.
2 bespoke modules have been developed for the Liverpool City Region; an Ambassador Workshop covering the International Festival for
Business and events information, and a World of Different Customers,
supporting staff to deliver excellent customer service while
recognising the challenges of cultural and physical diversity.
There are still a number of courses available through until the end
of July, which local employers can sign up their staff for.
More information on the qualification and the opportunity to
register for the courses can be found at:-
merseylearn.net.
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