“AT Parkway it’s all about community,” says new centre manager Liam Gleeson.
He has come from a role where retail is fast paced and about margins, so arriving at Parkway has been a revelation, he says, in how it is more of a community space than a shopping centre.
“I love the way everybody pulls together for the greater good in Parkway,” he said.
“Customers, tenants, and staff all working hand in hand for the better of their community. And the best example of that process is how the Parkway Shopping Centre supports the Mid West Simon Community.”
Mid West Simon provide people experiencing homelessness with a sense of identity and promote meaningful engagement in a non-judgemental way, providing supports such as foodbanks.
Customers shopping in Dunnes Stores Parkway can buy a little extra and donate items into marked trollies placed on the mall of the centre. Throughout the week, security officer Noel Whyte empties these trollies into storage boxes and stores them in the centre, then EBS Building Society manager Padraig Malone drops them to Mid West Simon for distribution to those within the community who need that little bit of help through the foodbank.
“A combined Parkway team effort of tenants and staff ensures the most vulnerable in the community have weekly access to food and that is something that makes Parkway staff and management very proud,” Mr Gleeson concluded.
