20/04/2018
At Arrow Valves, we are always looking for new ways to help charitable organisations and the community, and to give something back. In place of a financial donation, we wanted to give something extra – our time. TimeBank are national volunteering charity, and their goal is to transform the volunteering experience and make it a real force for change. They work with businesses to engage staff members in volunteering, connecting companies to local projects – helping communities.
On the 9th and 10th of April, several members of the Arrow Valves team headed over to Woodberry Down in North London, to help regenerate a community Garden.
This is what we were faced with…
As Adrian, one of the volunteers said, ‘it was a wet and miserable day and we had to take orders from strangers. The whole process looked daunting and impossible to achieve, but a group of strangers knuckled down, got covered in mud and grafted’. And we grafted! The days were spent weeding, shoveling soil, building wooden planters by sawing, hammering and nailing, lifting and shifting these around… and the finished product was incredible!
For more information on TimeBank, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit their website here.
Keep reading to find out what our team had to say:
Adrian – “By the end of the day we looked back on what was rows of bags to nice neat rows of purpose built boxes, ready to plant. Tired, dirty, wet but with an enormous sense of achievement and a proud respect for our fellow workmates.”
Laura – “The day provided the opportunity to push the boundaries of our comfort zones and learn new skills in an inspiring and rewarding environment. Volunteering our time versus money whilst meeting genuine hard-working people, both as volunteers and members of the community, humanised giving back.”
Sophie – “A rewarding day for myself, my team and the local community we helped. All in all, a day well spent.”
Veronica – “It was a fabulous, hard but rewarding day, not only did I help out with a great scheme I found I also helped myself, fresh air and laughter after a cold winter was just the tonic!”
