Eight volunteers from Aviva spent a day gardening at our residential service for over 50s. A highlight of the day was getting the residents involved in the activity and interacting with the volunteers.
Webster Court is located just outside the city centre and is home to 33 people who have been homeless at some point in their lives.
The team from Aviva took part through Volunteering Matters, an initiative that matches up volunteers with charities and groups in need of support. The team were tasked with a variety of jobs that will help with the ongoing development and maintenance of the grounds enabling Webster Court residents able to make use of the garden areas.
The team worked hard and achieved a lot in a day. They cut back overgrown areas, weeded the gravel, tidied raised beds and borders, pressure-washed the patios and cleared rubbish to a skip.
One of the objectives of the day for Aviva was team-building and effective communication, with the added benefit of doing something to help the community.
Stuart Dann, from Aviva said, “Yesterday’s event was a great success and all my team thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We achieved all the tasks we set out to do, except cutting the grass but this was due to the lawnmower not working unfortunately. It was great that some of the residents came out to help and talk to us. Our team always enjoy these activities and it brings a sense of team bonding outside of the usual daily environment.”
Another team member from Aviva said, “I think it’s fantastic that facilities like this exist, which we wouldn’t have known about without this experience. It was amazing to hear from the residents how much a difference this facility has made to their life and wellbeing and it really enhanced the volunteering experience to understand what we were contributing to.”
Support worker Steven Hansby-Moore, who works at Webster Court said the team from Aviva had a positive impact on the residents. He said, “The day went well, particularly because it gives our residents a boost in terms of their confidence and motivation – and the garden is looking neat and tidy now!”