Staff from Schroders (Bermuda) Ltd celebrated the company’s 50 years on the island with a clean-up day held in conjunction with Keep Bermuda Beautiful.

Members of Schroders’ offices in the US, UK, Jersey and Guernsey were on-island for the anniversary, and assisted with the clean-up.

The day of service, the company said, ended a week of celebratory events that included an investment seminar with guest speaker, Major General Patrick Marriott, who also joined the clean-up effort.

One clean-up team worked with the children from Devonshire Preschool to clean the surrounding area of Corkscrew Hill and Avocado Lodge Park while a second team travelled to Southlands in Warwick to clean the park area and beach.

Volunteering is rooted in Schroders’ corporate purpose and is expressed in the simple phrase ‘improving futures’, the company said. This approach is based on four stakeholders: Schroders’ people; clients; society; and the company’s shareholders.

“Improving futures is what we want to achieve in each of these areas,” a spokesperson said. “This applies as much to volunteering in local schools, as it does to reducing our carbon footprint and championing sustainability in the investments we make for clients. Our new approach aligns with our brand identity to improve future prosperity for our clients.”

Staff are encouraged to volunteer and have two days paid volunteer leave per annum, the company said. Schroders also sponsors a time-matching scheme whereby a donation is made to the charity to which a staff member donates their personal time.

For an area that appeared to be spotless, Avocado Lodge Park produced nearly a dozen bags of trash, the company said.

Anne Hyde, executive director of KBB, who was present at the clean-up, noted that litter is not only an ugly blight on the land; it threatens the health of animals and marine life who get entangled or ingest it, mistaking it for food. Careless littering can attract rats and mosquitoes to the area thereby creating a public health hazard.

“Congratulations to Schroders on your 50th anniversary in Bermuda,” Ms Hyde said. “We are grateful that you chose to spend the day helping KBB and protecting Bermuda’s greatest asset – her natural beauty.”