Benenden Health 'adopts' York community garden
13th November 2018
Benenden Health adopts Holgate garden as part of new volunteering initiative
Benenden Health have teamed up with York Cares and the City of York Council to ‘adopt’ the Sidings garden in Holgate, enabling more frequent clean ups of the community area.
Adopting the Sidings gardens will enable the York-based health & wellbeing organisation to have a local community project on their doorstep. The community area will still be under council responsibility but as a local business, Benenden Health will be organising teams of volunteers to spruce up the area on a more frequent basis.
The first tidy up took place on 7th November, where over 20 colleagues from Benenden Health spent the day on site for the first time after receiving their formal site induction. The communal area soon started to take shape with noticeable improvements from cleaning up litter, cutting back hedgerows and edging the park area. These quick wins will hopefully start to make a noticeable difference to the local community who regularly use the park area.
Nikki Taylor, CSR & Engagement Coordinator at Benenden Health said: “This is a fantastic volunteering opportunity as the Sidings is only a 5 minute walk away from our offices, which will hopefully encourage all our colleagues to go along to the park areas in their lunch breaks and spruce up the communal area.”
“Through volunteering programmes such as this, Benenden Health continues to support the local community. The initiative is also part of our commitment to better mental health, both through providing a great space and by encouraging our employees to have time out from the office space.”
Holly Hennell, Manager at York Cares added: "We are delighted to be supporting Benenden Health with their adoption of the local Sidings site. We know what an impact a sustained commitment can have and they now have the opportunity to make a real difference to their local community over a period of time. The proximity of the site to the Benenden Health office makes it even easier for colleagues to volunteer and we hope to engage colleagues who may not have volunteered in the past."
Cllr Keith Aspden, Executive member for Economic Development and Community Engagement said “Volunteering brings a variety of benefits to our local communities and also to the volunteers themselves. The Sidings Garden is an important amenity for local residents and I am certain that the additional support from the Benenden Health will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved.”
For more information on York Cares, please visit: www.yorkcares.co.uk