Volunteers from the Leicester office of leading law firm Howes Percival LLP have devoted a Saturday to painting and decorating a community centre in a deprived area of the city.

A team of 14 volunteers from Howes Percival took part, with the corporate law firm paying for £350 of paint and other materials for the Leicestershire Cares challenge at the Shree Sanatan Community Project in Rushey Mead.

Shree Sanatan offers a wide range of community services, including a daily after-school drop-in for eight to 14 year olds and an evening session twice a week for older teenagers. Painting and decorating the training and meeting area at the centre will not only give local people a nicer environment to meet in, it will also mean the centre can hire out its rooms to generate much needed income for the project.

The 14 volunteers from Howes Percival’s office at Bede Island came from across the firm, with partners, solicitors and support staff all joining in. It’s the latest in a long-running and ongoing campaign of community involvement by the firm, which has seen it named a finalist in the Leicestershire Business Awards 2009. Howes Percival finds out on April 24 if it has won the Contribution to the Community Award.

Michael Briggs, a Howes Percival solicitor who took part in the day’s activities, said: “It was a full day, but great fun and we all had a real sense of satisfaction when we looked at what we had achieved. We cleaned surfaces, did filling and sanding and lots of painting - there were a lot of doors and door frames to paint. For many of the younger staff who took part this was their first taste of decorating, so there was a fair bit of paint on them too.”

Rashila Chauhan, Shree Sanatan’s project manager, said the centre has had its first enquiries about booking the rooms by a business: “The painting by Howes Percival has made such a difference. The rooms now look good as new - very bright and welcoming. The management committee, children and the staff would like to say a big thank you to Howes Percival for all the help and support they have shown to our project.”

Howes Percival’s next volunteering activity also involves paint and brushes; the law firm is to paint the clubhouse and picket fences at Enderby Cricket Club.