Local staff from Barclays Bank braved a cold, wet Saturday morning in May to redecorate several stables for the horses, ponies and donkeys at HorseWorld, in Bristol. The Welfare Department at HorseWorld (a registered charity) takes in many sick, injured and neglected horses, all of whom need a safe, secure environment to recover in. The stables in the Welfare Department get used extensively, and they need regular cleaning and re-decorating to prevent the spread of disease.

Simon Gould (plus wife Louise & daughter Vicky), Howard Foley, Craig Horne, Clive Wallace (Local Business Managers) Zena Pollard Account Manager, Pat Brice Corporate Managers Assistant, Jo Lovell Branch Manager Keynsham & neighbour, Rosie Halls Mortgage Specialist (plus Husband Andy & Daughter), Julia Lawry (Personal Banker Keynsham plus Husband, Daughter & friend)

Simon Gould, Barclays Local Business Manager, was touched by the sad stories of some of the horses, ponies and donkeys when he visited HorseWorld, and so he offered to help. Sixteen Barclays volunteers braved the weather to spend hours cleaning, scraping, sweeping and painting 15 stables in the Welfare Department. Simon Gould said: " We all had a really enjoyable day supporting HorseWorld, everyone just got stuck in and worked really hard to achieve as much as possible in one day. This is a great example of Barclays staff working closely with the local community to achieve something which we hope will make a real and lasting difference".

James Cretney, HorseWorld's Chief Executive, said "The volunteers from Barclays were brilliant. The stables they worked so hard to re-decorate are used for our most needy cases, such as the Shetland ponies which recently arrived from Greece. We must keep these stables in excellent condition to ensure the welfare of our animals, and we are really grateful to the Barclays volunteers for their hard work."

Zena Pollard & Pat Brice

" The Friends of Bristol Horses Society (working name HorseWorld) is a registered charity, based in Whitchurch, Bristol. The charity cares for equines that have been abandoned, mistreated, neglected, or whose owners can no longer care for them. The charity also re-homes suitable horses.
" HorseWorld was formed in 1952 by local volunteers.
" HorseWorld is purely dependent on donations; the charity receives no statutory funding or lottery money.
" HorseWorld runs a Visitor Centre in Whitchurch, Bristol, where the public can learn about and interact with horses, ponies and donkeys.
" In 2002 Barclays' global commitment to the community amounted to £32 million, which includes 1% of UK pre-tax profits. As one of the UK's largest corporate community contributors, the bank aims to achieve real and lasting benefit both for the community and Barclays, by supporting education, social inclusion, people with disabilities, the arts and the environment

For further information on HorseWorld, please visit www.horseworld.org.uk.

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