Milliken gives back during fifth annual community week

IN September 2025, 124 Milliken volunteers contributed more than 650 hours supporting local community groups during the fifth annual Community Week from their Wigan headquarters.

Staff from all departments partnered with local charities and organisations to provide practical help. Over the past five years, Milliken’s 511 volunteers have given nearly 3,500 hours to 13 organisations.

Beech Hill Community Week began on Monday 8 September 2025, with volunteers working across six projects: Beech Hill Community Primary School, The Brick, FoodCycle, Fur Clemt, Happy Smiles, and The Meadows – Appley Bridge Community Association.

Fourteen Milliken volunteers visited Beech Hill Community Primary School for a Careers Fair, engaging Year 5 and 6 students with interactive sessions about different roles. Students were tasked with designing carpet tiles, and the winning entry will be produced at Milliken’s Wigan plant in October.

Over two days, Milliken volunteers renovated The Brick charity shop on Gidlow Lane, Wigan. Earlier in the year they updated the downstairs area with new Mash Up carpet tiles in the front and back-office spaces.

The team later refurbished the upstairs furniture section. The Brick supports the Wigan and Leigh Borough by addressing poverty and homelessness through accommodation, outreach, food programs, and affordable household goods.

Milliken revisited Happy Smiles Training this year, helping install Mash Up carpet tiles in their new Wigan location. Volunteers used carpet planks and tiles to create distinct zones in office and multi-use spaces.

Happy Smiles Training is a social enterprise led by people with disabilities, offering inclusive training to promote diversity, inclusion, and empowerment through education, employment, and advocacy.

The Meadows in Appley Bridge, managed by the Community Association, has transformed from an industrial site into a thriving area with allotments, an orchard, and a wildflower meadow.

Over two days, 37 volunteers prepared the meadow for future flowering, harvested apples, tidied and refreshed the grounds, repaired fences and sheds, cleared overgrowth, and carried out woodland conservation efforts.

Fur Clemt is a Community Interest Company focused on reducing food waste and addressing food poverty by redistributing surplus food through a community outlet. The name, meaning ‘Very Hungry’ locally, reflects their mission.

Milliken volunteers helped out during Community Week painting fences, gardening and cutting vegetation back, working in the food warehouse and supported with general tidying up.

The London-based Milliken team supported Food Cycle during Community Week. Food Cycle is a UK charity tackling food poverty, social isolation, and food waste by transforming surplus food into nutritious meals for communities.

Volunteers helped create welcoming spaces that promote wellbeing and sustainable attitudes toward food while raising environmental awareness.

In addition to the above, Milliken volunteers contributed their time to support Makants Greyhound Rescue North West during Community Week. Makants is a rescue charity based in Greater Manchester that works to rehome retired racing greyhounds. The organisation focuses on animal welfare and engages with the community.

Milliken Associates participated in another project with Wigan Council focused on cleaning an area in the town centre. The team completed tasks such as picking up litter, removing rubbish, and painting fences along a pathway behind Wigan Little Theatre.

Emma Thomas, HR business partner from Milliken concluded: ‘This year we celebrated five years of Community Week. We had no idea of the impact we’d have on our community and colleagues when we started this initiative.

‘It’s something we’re all incredibly proud of and look forward to each year. We continue to strive to positively impact the world around us for generations to come.’

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