Exchanging Cans for Bulbs

[caption id="attachment_2709" align="alignleft" width="232" caption="Some of the generous donations from colleagues"][/caption]

Infrastructure's Stuart Gascoigne at Wakefield House has a neat scheme which is turning used cans into something much nicer. The results are being appreciated by many people in Bristol.

His colleagues have been donating most generously to the recycling scheme which turns the cans Stuart collects into cash. In turn he's using the money raised (approx £5 per month) to buy bulbs for the Malago Valley Conservation Group.

The Malago Valley Conservation Group works to improve the open spaces and streams of the Bishopsworth area of Bristol.

Stuart reports:

[caption id="attachment_2710" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Bulb planting in October last year"][/caption]

The scrap cans are sold for recycling. The money raised is used for environmental projects. For the past few years the amount raised from the sale of scrap metal has matched the amount spent on planting flower bulbs, so in a sense the cans are turned into bulbs.

All contributions of cans are welcome!

What a fantastic idea! It'd be great to see the flowers if you have a picture Stuart :)

Gigs and gardens for MSC

Worcester MSC have stepped it up a gear with their fundraising and community work.  They held a gig on 23 June at the Marrs Bar in Worcester in aid of their charity, Acorns.

The 3 bands - Arturo, FTB and Hades the Cat - all played for free on the night and all door donations were collected for Acorns.  The bands all had current or ex Smiths News staff as members.  They raised a wonderful £210 on the night.

[caption id="attachment_1050" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="At the Marrs Bar"][/caption]

They also got a group together to start a gardening project at Acorns.  They were asked to hire a skip and clear away 18 months' worth of garden waste!  2 skips later they'd managed to clear the debris.  The gardening project is ongoing, with the MSC 'adopting' an area of Acorns garden to upkeep on a regular basis.  They have big plans for their plot, including composting the garden waste and screening it off with a trellis.  They also plan to raise more funds to pay for fencing and some apple trees.

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Working at Acorns"][/caption]

The helpers in the garden were: Vicky Wheeldon and her sons Jamie and Sam, Mark Falcon, Darren Clark, Andy Walls, Laura McDonald, Andy Wheeldon, Tracey Harper and her daughter Chloe.

[caption id="attachment_1057" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Getting stuck in!"][/caption]

HR get baking and gardening

[caption id="attachment_919" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Zoe Marlow, Emma Doyle and Charlotte Owen with their magnificent cake stall"][/caption]

Well done to the HR team at Wakefield House who've been very busy recently for Community Week.  They held a cake sale which raised a brilliant £200 for Leonard Cheshire Disability at Greathouse in Chippenham.

They also had a team away day at the Leonard Cheshire house, where they spent the day working in the grounds. 

They cleared away rubbish, retreated the garden furniture and planted 600 plants!

The team said: "We were just getting to the end of the potting plants, which seemed endless, when someone came along and donated another 100!  We were struggling for room in the end.  But we have since heard that all the pots are looking fantastic, so it was worth the effort.  We were very lucky with the weather and everyone had a lot of fun."

This is the second time that the HR team have visited the Greathouse to work on their garden, truly a great sense of community spirit between the team and their chosen charity.  Well done all!

Gardening in the Community

Newcastle House showed their community week spirit recently when they went to a local Marie Curie hospice to do some gardening.  Marilyn Stadius organised the outing, with 8 staff in total in attendance.

In addition to all their fundraising efforts Newcastle also wanted to do something for their community that didn't involve asking for money. They have now forged links with the hospice and intend to give their time there on a monthly basis, helping out with the garden and other projects.

Attendees on the first session were: Craig Berry, Norman Cooke, Kevin Graham, Carol Inglis, Marie Kirven, Paul Price, Ian Rothwell and Marilyn Stadius.

Gill White, Facilities Manager at the hospice said: "Thank you so much for all your efforts on Friday. The gardens look lovely and the Day Care staff and patients were so happy with the results today. It was lovely to meet you all and thanks again."

Well done Newcastle and keep up the good work!