REFLECT- CHARTER WALK SHOPPING CENTRE
Involved Partners: Shoppertainment Management Ltd, Burnley BID & Burnley Community
REFLECT… ‘Actions show a lot about your values’. This sums up Charter Walk’s commitment to its community. Burnley’s Community Hero’s campaign put a spotlight on the great people of Burnley and they shone like a beacon in the darkest days of the pandemic. The pandemic locked us down, but not Burnley’s community spirit! We are huge advocates of mental health and the power of communication.
Inclusivity is at its core and has implemented many initiatives ensuring they accommodate all shoppers. Being a community shopping centre with a loyal shopper catchment we witnessed our community pull together throughout the pandemic.
We were made aware of stories of kindness, and empathy and wanted to recognise those who had gone above and beyond during difficult times. We conducted a social media campaign inviting shoppers to nominate their local hero’s in the community. Overwhelmed with entries, the first social post received 500+ comments, 99 shares and a reach of 18,134. The stories were heart-warming and several nominees had multiple nominations. We choose 10 heroes who were invited to the centre to take part in an interview for a community hero film. We also unveiled a special community wall highlighting each of them. They were given certificates and personalised giant rainbows made that were hung around the shopping centre for all to see.
The video has had over 9,000 views. We highlighted hero’s over the months as the country continued to rely on the generosity and help from people like them. We linked up with one hero Tracey Smith from ‘The Natter Shack’. The scheme encourages talking to each other promoting mental health, and combatting loneliness and isolation. Exactly why we chose her for one of our heroes. We installed a ‘Happy to Chat’ bench linking in with a mental health message.
TESTIMONIAL
‘Charter Walk leads the way in Burnley for their initiatives and links with the community. As the community is so close knit in Burnley the centre recognised the need to celebrate individuals that went over and above during the pandemic. The dedication of Debbie and the team within the community is second to none. A true inspiration in Burnley’
Andrew Dean – Burnley BID Manager
