Selco News

We’re giving charities and community groups in Salford the chance to benefit from a £1000 windfall.

We’re calling for all groups from in and around the city to submit an application for our Selco Stars scheme for the chance to win £1000.

This marks the launch of Selco’s 69th branch, which opens on North Phoebe Street in Salford this October, creating more than 30 local jobs in the process.

Applicants are invited to explain in no more than 100 words how the money would benefit their organisation.

In addition to the one winner selected from the Selco Stars initiative, we’ll also make a £2000 donation to charity partner Global’s Make Some Noise, which helps small projects that support disadvantaged children, young people and their families who are living with illness, disability or lack of opportunity.

Kevin O’Rourke, branch manager at Selco Salford, said: “We’re very excited to be opening in Salford, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by supporting local charities and community groups.

“So many organisations do such fantastic work in our community and we are very proud to be able to give them the chance to win a sum of money which will make a real difference.”

Entries can be made by filling in a form at https://www.selcobw.com/info/salford-charity-application by midnight on Monday 19th October 2020 and one group will be selected by a panel of judges to win the £1000.

 

One of our branch managers is heading for small screen stardom after we got involved in a Welsh TV show to help a Cardiff school.

The S4C series Prosiect Pum Mil (Project Five Thousand) sees community projects in Wales receive £5,000 to be put towards something which benefits the community.

The Specialist Resource Base at Ysgol Gymraeg Glantaf, a Welsh language school in Cardiff, is one of seven lucky recipients and will use the windfall from the series to develop an unused outdoor space for pupils with complex needs.

Selco’s Cardiff Hadfield Road branch got involved by providing a large amount of materials at a discounted rate, including wood, decking board, guttering, fixings and cement.

The work will be completed in the coming days with the help of tradespeople in the local community, and the makeover will feature on S4C later in the year.

Brian Maxwell, branch manager at Selco Hadfield Road, said: “It was great to be involved in this project.

“Prosiect Pum Mil is an exciting TV show which is making a real difference to groups and organisations in Wales and we were pleased to be able to help by providing top quality materials.

“We hope the school and the pupils enjoy the new facility.”

Catrin Honeybill, producer of the show, said: “The idea is the programme provides £5,000 and two enthusiastic presenters and the beneficiary has to call on the skills and expertise of local people to get the job done – within a limited time frame and budget!

“We’re really grateful to Brian and the team at Selco for their help in sourcing the materials, particularly at a discounted rate which has meant the budget has stretched much further.”

The Specialist Resource Base in Glantaf is the only Welsh-medium secondary specialist provision in South East Wales. The school aims to provide a specialist curriculum which is balanced and varied for learners with complex needs within a mainstream school.

The base currently has 17 students, rising to 22 in the new term.

We’re delighted to have provided a helping hand to a hospice which supports patients with life-limiting conditions across north east Worcestershire

Our Stirchley branch has stepped in to assist Primrose Hospice, based on St Godwalds Road in Bromsgrove.

The hospice requires £1.7 million per year to maintain its services and aims to raise a portion of those funds through selling donated items on eBay.

Selco Stirchley has provided materials including timber and internal doors to help move its eBay operations at its showcase Headless Cross shop in Redditch.

Primrose Hospice is an independent charity offering support and advice to patients living with life-limiting conditions while, at the same time, offering full support to families.

Angelique Dalton, chief operating officer for Primrose Hospice, said: “We are hugely grateful to the donation made by Selco Builders Warehouse.

“We receive many donations which are sold in our shops, but certain items are more suited to sell on eBay.

“Having an office to co-ordinate all that activity will be an extremely positive development for our fundraising.

“We have had to dramatically adjust the way we work during Covid-19 and the lockdown period has, like other charities, placed a significant drain on resources so support such as that we are receiving from Selco Builders Warehouse is invaluable.”

Michael Mushen, branch manager of Selco Stirchley, said: “I’m aware first hand of the outstanding work the Primrose Hospice does.

“Only a very small percentage of the total funds required for the Hospice to be operational each year comes from government support and the rest comes through fundraising and donations so we were delighted to offer our assistance.

“One of our big commitments at Selco is to, where we can, support the communities in which we operate and this donation is further evidence of that.”

Primrose Hospice offers a full range of support for patients, including nurse-led clinics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services and spiritual and emotional support.

In addition, the hospice’s Family Support Service offers tailored assistance to adults and children including a counselling service, benefits advice and complementary therapy.

All of Primrose’s services are provided free of charge to the patients and their families, as well as bereaved adults and children.

Our second Selco Stars winner of 2020 has been revealed – with a care home in Dartford planning a new outdoor seating area for its residents after winning £500 worth of building materials.

Gardenia House Care Home, on Pilgrims Court, has been selected by our panel of judges as part of our Selco Stars initiative.

Each month, we are donating £500 of building materials to two groups across the UK, with the 12 finalists going forward for a public vote for the chance to win £5,000 in cash.

A second prize of £1,250 is also available to mark our 125th anniversary.

Entries to Selco Stars can be made by visiting the Selco Stars page

Gardenia House, which is run by national charity Ambient Support, is a small and friendly residential home providing care and support to 25 elderly residents.

Manager Nigel Odd said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been an extremely difficult time for care homes across the UK.

“During the crisis we have worked tirelessly to offer the best care possible to our residents and keep people safe, happy and connected with their loved ones.

“During the lockdown we have been landscaping our gardens and we plan to add a special seating area, which will be a great space for our residents to relax and for them to enjoy socially distanced visits with friends and family.

“These materials will be a huge boost and will enable us to get the job done. We are extremely grateful to Selco.”

We’ve teamed up with Sony Movies to offer die hard Bruce Willis fans the chance to win an ‘Ultimate Night In’ bundle.

One lucky Selco customer will win everything they need to bring the big screen right to their living room. Yippee Ki Yay!

You’ll win:

• A Sony Bravia LED HDR Full HD Smart TV, 43" with Freeview Play

• A Sony Bluetooth All-In-One Sound Bar

• £20 Just Eat vouchers every Friday in September

To enter, simply head to our Facebook page and show us your John McClane knowledge*.

Sony Movies’ Die Hard Season kicks off on Friday 11th September with Die Hard 2. You can find Sony Movies on Freeview channel 32, Sky 321, Virgin 425 and Freesat 302.

*White vest optional

Our customers have well and truly brought home the bacon by answering one of THE most burning questions – what does the perfect bacon sarnie look like?

After a week of sizzling surveys on our social media channels to mark International Bacon Day, we can finally reveal the perfect bacon sandwich, as voted for by you.

• White bread

• Crispy bacon

• Topped with a fried egg

• And the big shock... brown sauce over red!

If you're feeling a little peckish now, the good news is that selected Selco cafes are now open for takeaways.

Whether you fancy a bacon sarnie, full English or just a cuppa to kickstart your day, we’ve got you covered.

Selco Stars is back – and we’ve kicked things off by supporting a charity which helps house homeless veterans across England and Wales.

Helping Homeless Veterans UK, based in Poole, has been selected by our panel of judges to win £500 worth of building materials through the campaign.

Each month we’re donating £500 of building materials to two groups across the UK, with the 12 finalists going forward for a public vote for the chance to win £5,000 in cash. A second prize of £1,250 is also available to mark Selco’s 125th anniversary.

Helping Homeless Veterans UK, a not-for-profit organisation, was formed last September and has already provided homes for 60 people who have previously served in the Armed Forces.

David Wood, CEO of Helping Homeless Veterans UK, said: “There are a worryingly high number of veterans who come out of the forces and struggle to get back on their feet.

“Our purpose is not only to find them a home but also help to rebuild their lives.

“More than 90 per cent of the veterans we help have been out of the forces for five years or more and many of them, unfortunately, have mental health issues.

“Our first priority is to find them a home but, in many ways, the hard work starts then because we work with them every step of the way beyond housing them to ensure they get back on the feet and are living a fulfilling life.

“Everyone who supports the organisation does so on a voluntary basis and we rely totally on public donations, so winning this prize from Selco will make the world of difference.

“We will buy products and materials to use on our current and forthcoming projects and we can’t thank Selco enough.”

Carine Jessamine, marketing director at Selco, said: "Helping Homeless Veterans UK does outstanding work with a particularly vulnerable section of society.

“We are delighted to have selected the organisation as one of our first Selco Stars winners and hope the products and materials will help to re-house more veterans.”

Entries to Selco Stars can be made by visiting www.selcobw.com/selco-stars.

We are delighted to say that, as of this weekend, Sunday trading will return to Selco.

August 9 will be the day that you can return to your trusted builders merchant on a Sunday.

We closed the entire Selco branch network and delivery operations when lockdown started on March 23 and began the process of reopening in early May.

Initially, branches reopened to support Click & Collect and Click & Deliver orders before customers were allowed back through the doors. Now we are returning to seven days a week opening.

Howard Luft, our chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be resuming Sunday trading and this is the latest measure to support the work of tradespeople, while retaining the health and welfare of our colleagues and customers as our No 1 priority.

“Tradespeople around the UK are doing outstanding work across their local communities and being in a position to open our branches seven days a week provides them with additional options when it comes to purchasing products and materials.”

Branches will now be open 6.30am-6pm Monday to Friday – apart from Wembley which closes at 5pm - 7am-4pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

And the good news doesn’t end there. As of today (Monday, August 3), the process of reopening our cafes in a takeaway only format begins.

Not all cafes will reopen straightaway but, from today, the opportunity is there to order takeaway food for your return to work after browsing our wide range of building materials, power tools and building supplies.

Normally, all the fun of the darts descends on Blackpool every July for the World Matchplay.

However, this isn’t a normal year. Coronavirus has forced the tournament from its traditional venue at the Winter Gardens behind closed doors in Milton Keynes.

Here at Selco Builders Warehouse, we were determined to bring a darts treat to the people of Blackpool by giving them the chance to win a share of a £1,000 prize fund.

As an official partner of the Professional Darts Corporation, we ran a competition to give darts fans the chance to receive a visit to their home from the Selco darts team and win big by taking to the oche and showing off their darting skills.

Anyone living within 10 miles of The Winter Gardens could enter and the Selco darts team visited five people selected at random.

The challenge for our five winners was simple – score 40 or more with three darts to win £200.

Our contestants didn’t let us down and turned on the style to secure their prizes.

Jay Jackson, Christian Hampson, Louise Acheson – with a little help from her nephew – Lily Smith and Alan Ward all pocketed £200.

Clearly their trips to the Winter Gardens to watch the professionals in action paid off!

The successful contestants also received a Selco ‘darts at home’ bundle, including merchandise and refreshments to watch the Matchplay from the comfort of their own sofas.

To view all the action from our trip to Blackpool, watch the video below.

With COVID-19 forcing us to look at new ways of working, our Head of Health and Safety, Mark Hemmins, provides guidance around safe working practices for tradespeople while working on the job.

PPE has always been an important part of a tradesperson’s day-to-day life but, in 2020, it has taken on a whole new significance.

Whereas one of the main thoughts when visiting a client’s house just six months ago would have been the quality of tea provided, there’s now a whole list of more significant considerations on the agenda daily.

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the landscape in just about every walk of life and that is certainly no different for our customers who, virtually without exception, have been fantastic in adhering to the new guidelines in our 68 branches as we have gone through the process of reopening.

But, as we slowly ease out of lockdown, what precautions should you take to ensure you remain COVID-compliant as you go about your daily work? Here are a few tips to consider.

Face coverings

Depending on the job in hand, some tradespeople would have a face mask or visor as part of their daily attire as a matter of course.

To adjust to the current situation, my recommendation would be that every trade professional entering a client’s home – or an alternative site – should wear a face covering.

I appreciate some people will think twice about that as it’s not always the most comfortable feeling, but I genuinely think that’s the right approach to protect you, your client and your business.

The more precautions you take against COVID-19, the more your customers will draw confidence and feel assured - and the more likely they are to welcome you into their house to carry out that important job.

In terms of what coverings to use, we have an array of masks, including the FFP1 Premier Mask,which has added comfort due to a moulded shell to adjust to a user’s face.

For those who prefer a visor, the Scan Face Shield and Visor is an excellent product providing unrestricted working vision.

Gloves and Sanitiser

While face coverings are a vital part of the PPE offering, our hands should also be protected.

It’s no surprise we’ve been continuously asked to wash our hands since the virus arrived in the UK as that is a key method to reduce transmission.

Donning a pair of gloves where possible would be another sensible suggestion for tradespeople.

As well as protection from COVID-19, SW Powerform Nitrile Biodegradable gloves and Blackrock Disposable Nitrile Gloves, both provide an excellent grip, even in wet conditions.

For those who can’t wear gloves due to the nature of their job or don’t wear them throughout, Bond It Hand Sanitiser is another wise purchase to make in these trying times. Apply regularly – around every hour or whenever you arrive or leave a place of work - to protect both you and your client.

Social distancing

It’s a term we’ve all had to come to grips with over recent months and something that will be crucial to adhere to in the homes of your clients over the coming months.

At all times, you should try and stay 2 metres – or 1 metre-plus – away from your clients. It’s a very difficult task because – since year dot – our natural instinct as human beings has been to socialise, but it’s important we uphold that guidance.

If it’s proving a struggle to do that while you are working on a specific job, I’m sure your client will be respectful of any polite request to keep an appropriate distance.