Member Article

Volunteers get green fingers to help school

Volunteers from Procter & Gamble’s (P&G’s) Cobalt Business Park site in North Tyneside have been pruning, painting and planting in a team challenge to enhance local school Woodlawn’s sensory garden. The 25-strong P&G team raced against the clock in the day long challenge at Woodlawn, a school for children with special needs in West Monkseaton, Whitley Bay.

The team building challenge included fundraising leading up to the day in order to buy the materials. The team themselves raised almost £300 which was then topped up by P&G to £600. The team helped to improved the school’s sensory garden by building a bench, gardening, painting a shed, and painting a giant chess board onto the paving stones as well as putting up football posts in the school yard.

Olivier Badadan, the P&G team leader, said: “We have all had a really enjoyable day. We wanted to do some kind of team building challenge and also combine that with doing something good for the local community. It’s great that we have been able to make a difference to the school’s garden in one day, helping local young people to live, learn and thrive.”

Sheila Routledge, Woodlawn’s design and technology teacher, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have all these volunteers. The sensory garden is a fantastic tranquil place for our pupils to have some peaceful time and we are also able to take lessons out there sometimes. The pupils were also able to help with the design of the garden and they even had their overalls on and were painting with the P&G team!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .