We were delighted to recently welcome West Ham United players Alphonse Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo to our Dagenham site, as part of a special visit to recognise our ongoing partnership with the West Ham United Foundation.
As a long-standing supporter of the Foundation and a Founding Patron of The Foundry, Paragon is proud to play an active role in supporting the charity’s work. Most recently, we produced the full suite of branding for the Foundation’s Gala Dinner and Awards as headline sponsor. With the majority of our 500 strong workforce at Dagenham proudly supporting West Ham United, the visit proved to be a memorable occasion for colleagues across the business.
During their time with us, Areola and Todibo toured our sites, spanning office, design and large-scale production areas, gaining an insight into the breadth of work we deliver in support of the Foundation. The players saw a range of materials in production, including a key highlight of the visit - the Foundation’s 2026 charity calendar, fresh from the production line, with Areola and Todibo among the first to receive copies.
As part of the visit, the players surprised four members of the Paragon team from across the business, taking time to hear their stories and personally thank them for their commitment, presenting them with West Ham United gifts from the Club shop.
The visit celebrated the strength of the partnership between Paragon and the West Ham United Foundation, recognising the people behind the work and our shared commitment to supporting the Foundation’s community initiatives.
Gemma Mitchell, Managing Director of our Dagenham site, said:
“It was such a lovely surprise. We’ve been working with the West Ham Foundation for just over five years now, supporting a wide range of initiatives and events from the Golf Day to being headline sponsors for the Gala Dinner and supporting the launch of The Foundry. It’s been a huge privilege to welcome JC and Alphonse today, to show them how we produce some of the printed materials for the Foundation and to meet our 500 strong workforce. It’s been a really exciting day for everybody.”
Alphonse Areola added:
“We were here to thank everyone for what they’re doing for the Foundation and the Club. It was great to meet the staff working on the Foundation items, and I was lucky to receive the calendar as well.”
Jean-Clair Todibo commented:
“It’s really nice to get the 2026 calendar - it’s very well done. I’ve taken four for my family.”
