What is the Big Help Out?
The Big Help Out encourages volunteers across the UK to join in on a mass-scale volunteering event held over a period of days annually. They encourage people to make a difference (big or small!) within their local community. The objective of The Big Help Out is to raise awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities. This is not a profit making or fundraising initiative.
Earlier this month, we were thrilled that our watchmaker Ed Hurren was able to join the Big Help Out event hosted by St Andrews Healthcare.
Dawn Wright, Voluntary Services Manager was thrilled to have volunteers on board at the Big Help Out event. She said: “This fantastic campaign is encouraging people to come together and experience how rewarding volunteering can be. Together, we have the power to make change”.
Ed spent the entire day there alongside volunteers from other companies - Enterprise, Goodrich Consulting, Ricoh and St Andrews IT support staff. They worked incredibly hard to produce fantastic end results.
Together, they were able to achieve:
- Two tennis courts that have now been fully weeded and de-mossed.- The ‘Shaded Plants ‘polytunnel in the Garden Centre has now been completed – with gravel floor and additional painted benches.
- The PRC (Patient’s Social Club) area at St Andrews now has newly painted murals up.
- They were able to sort through 12 giant cages worth of donations for the Workbridge charity shop.
Dawn expressed her gratitude after the event: “This is a huge achievement and we couldn’t have done it without your help. We cannot wait for the patients to see and benefit from all of your hard work. Well done and massive thanks again for coming and for helping to make a difference to our patients”.
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St Andrews Healthcare is a charity that provides mental healthcare for patients with some of the most complex, challenging mental health needs in the UK. The organisation started their roots in 1838 with the opening of their hospital in Northampton offering ‘humane’ care to the mentally ill. Over 180 years later, their charitable purpose stands the same: to relieve suffering, give hope and promote recovery.
As part of their recovery journey, many patients gain work skills and experience at Workbridge which offers a vocational pathway. Michael Jones himself was part of the group that had initially set up Workbridge 40 years ago and we are proud to continue the relationship with both Workbridge and St Andrews.
If you are interested in seeing what volunteering opportunities St Andrews have at present, please visit:
https://www.stah.org/careers/volunteering
You can also contact them directly -
📞 Call them on 01604 616202 or
✉️ Email them at: voluntaryservices@stah.org
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Here at Michael Jones Jeweller, we continue to work with and support local charities using our community fund. If you have any queries on how we may be able to support a local charity then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
