Team Volunteering Day
On Tuesday 7th November we had a team volunteering day at the beautiful Restore Hope Latimer Estate located in the Chess Valley. Our duties for the day included cleaning up following the Fireworks Night and readying the site for the Nativity Light Trail – we were told to wear warm clothes and wellies, and I think it’s safe to say we were all very grateful that it didn’t rain on the day!
We were greeted by friendly faces and told that we would have a busy day ahead of us. We had an introduction to Restore Hope from COO Jo Clare and Estate Manager Dan Meech, who told us about the life changing project that Restore Hope provides for those who are underprivileged and do not have the same opportunities as others. The vision of Hope Latimer is that no matter how tough a situation is there can always be hope, which they offer through support and encouragement to restore lives and equip others with skills who haven’t been given the opportunity to be taught.
We got stuck into our various activities, and to name a few this included the manual lifting of over 400 heavy rubber mats onto pallets. These mats were used to safeguard the fields, preventing cars from getting stuck in the mud while parking for the firework display, planting grass seeds, using a drill, cleaning out a sheep and goats pen, taking down lights and fencing, all very different to our usual day-to-day tasks!
After a very varied morning we spoke to Nate, Restore Hope’s Chief Exec, who re-emphasised the importance of their work for the wider community and just how impactful this is to the transformation of lives and families. Nate spoke about how they use the produce that they grow on site in their fresh food boxes, which is done by some of the families as they learn how to grow their own produce.
We also heard from Mark Austin who shared about the Amersham furniture project he is involved with and highlighted that despite the assumption of affluence in Buckinghamshire, there is also poverty. Mark shared that his project focuses on giving donated items to those who are struggling financially and cannot afford any furniture. Mark spoke about his first-hand experiences of seeing local families in desperate needs and the stark reality of deprivation.
Coming away from the day I felt a greater understanding of the value of hope in everyone’s lives and the privilege of opportunities that I have, that others do not.
See below a thank you email from Caroline at Hope Latimer –
‘Thank you so much for the help of Beyond Finance on Tuesday. Your team did work that would have taken our small team several weeks to accomplish. The knock on for us would have an incredible impact on our ability to deliver our Christmas activities for families in our local community – and your help means we’re able to commence preparations for Christmas this week.
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.’
Here is Hope Latimer’s website if you’re interested in finding out more.
