Dulwich Scouts centre wins grand prize

A Scouts centre in Dulwich will be given a New Year transformation – thanks to a generous donation from a decorating and DIY specialist.

South London Scouts has bagged £1,000 worth of materials from Leyland SDM through the business’ Give London a Lift campaign.

Decorating and DIY specialist Leyland SDM, which has 32 stores across London, has given away £10,000 worth of materials this year through the scheme.

South London Scouts will put the materials to good use by making improvements to its Grange Lane centre, which is used by 5,000 young people, as well as visitors from around the world.

The group will use Leyland SDM’s new Dulwich store on 113-115 Lordship Lane to collect the prize.

David Liddle, a leader at South London Scouts, said: “This prize is a tremendous boost for us. We’re a charity organisation so every penny really does count and a donation like this goes a long way.

“South London Scouts supports the provision of exciting programmes for people aged between six and 25 years in the London Boroughs of Royal Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

“We have 96 Scout groups and 30 Explorer Scout units. Our centre, the South London Scout Centre, has wonderful facilities and with these materials we’ll be able to give it a new lease of life for the benefit of all who use it.

“I’m really looking forward to visiting the new Leyland SDM store in Dulwich to meet the team and collect everything we need for our makeover.”

This year’s Give London a Lift campaign was backed by former England and Arsenal footballer Paul Merson.

Other winners in 2021 include Acton Arts Project, The Brompton Fountain, South London Refugee Association, Dalgarno Trust and Caxton House Community Centre.

Paul Gerreli, Marketing Director at Leyland SDM, said: “The South London Scout Centre is embedded in the Dulwich community so it’s brilliant to be able to lend a hand with this prize.

“We know funding can be hard to come by so a donation like this really does make a big difference to all the people who use the facility.

“Our new Dulwich store has only been open for a couple of months but is already very involved in the local community, and this is another example of that.”

Leyland SDM has become one of the most recognisable and trusted decorating and DIY retail brands in central London with stores in some of the capital’s most prominent locations.

This month the growing business opened its eighth new store of the year when it cut the ribbon on its Bayswater premises at 96 Bishop’s Bridge Road, London W2 5AA.