WR-AP Volunteering Day 2025: Running Toward Change at the LandAid Run
- WR-AP
- 14 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Every year, WR-AP’s Volunteering Day marks one of the highlights of our studio life. It’s a day when WR-APpers step out of the office, get hands-on, and reconnect with our community and the natural world in meaningful ways.
This year was a little different—but just as special. Instead of our typical local volunteering, we laced up our trainers and joined the Landaid Run at the Olympic Park, London. While we didn’t plant trees or clear brambles this time, we still put our values into action—striding for a cause that aligns with WR-AP’s commitment to social value and environmental care.
Why LandAid Matters to WR-AP
LandAid is a charity that works tirelessly to end youth homelessness across the UK. By bringing the property and built environment industries together, it funds life-changing projects—from safe accommodation to employment training—that give young people the chance of a brighter future.
As architects, we understand the profound link between place and people—how the right environment can nurture wellbeing, security, and opportunity. LandAid’s mission resonates with our own practice ethos: designing with care for context, for people, and for reducing social inequity.
That connection is especially meaningful right now, as we are working with Guildford Council on a new homeless shelter that will double the current provision in the area. It’s a project that embodies both the urgency and the possibility of design to create real social impact—echoing the very same goals that LandAid champions. By participating in the LandAid Run, WR-AP wasn’t just running—we were standing alongside a cause that mirrors our own work, helping to create homes and futures for vulnerable young people.
Building on Our Volunteering Legacy
For the past few years, our Volunteering Days have taken us into the heart of our local green spaces. From the lush woodlands of Petersham Common, where we helped plant sweet chestnuts, hazels, and native bluebells, to the wild grasslands of Ham Lands, where we worked alongside volunteers to clear invasive species and protect habitats, we’ve always taken pride in contributing directly to the landscapes and communities around us.
That local commitment was recognised this year when WR-AP received the Richmond Council Community Business Contribution Award—a huge honour that celebrates the time and care we’ve invested into our borough. It’s proof that what we do together, outside the studio, really does make a difference.
The LandAid Run may have been a departure from tradition, but it felt like a natural extension of this legacy. Just as we’ve dug, planted, and cleared to make space for nature to thrive locally, this year we ran to create opportunities for young people nationally. Both acts—whether rooted in Richmond or running through Stratford—carry the same WR-AP spirit of giving back.
Looking Ahead: Local Roots in 2026
Volunteering Day is always one of the most anticipated dates in our calendar—not a “day off,” but a day of living our values together. The Olympic Park gave us an inspiring backdrop for 2025, but next year we’re looking forward to returning to something local. Just as architecture is grounded in place, so too is our volunteering.
For now, we’re proud to have run for LandAid, celebrated our recognition as Richmond’s Community Business of the Year, and continued our journey of giving back—one park, one project, one step at a time.
