Member Article

Over a hundred volunteers take on Darlington Cares’ litter-picking challenge

Darlington Cares’ has seen over 100 local employees and residents volunteer to help clean-up the town over the last five months.

Over the organisation’s four Pick, Pie and a Pint events 150 dedicated pickers have collected over 250 bags of rubbish.

The fourth Pick, Pie and a Pint event, held on October 27th, saw 32 volunteers come together for the final litter-picking challenge of the year.

All volunteers who joined the event earned themselves a free pie and a pint at the Hole in the Wall pub, as a thank you for taking part.

The last four events held by Darlington Cares have seen multitudes of employees from local organisations, including: EE, Darlington Borough Council and the Department for Education, volunteer their time to help spruce up the town centre.

Speaking about the event, Darlington Cares’ Programme Officer, Chelsea Johnson, said: “This is a great community event. It’s an easy way for people to show that they care about Darlington and to help make a difference to the town.

“It’s fantastic to see so many people come together and it makes a statement that we want Darlington to be a beautiful place. Also, the pies are really good in the Hole in the Wall!

“We are so happy to see that local firms have got involved with Pick, Pie and a Pint, as it sends not only a positive message to their employees, but to the public as well.”

A number of local businesses, including: Sherwoods, Darlington Building Society and Northumbrian Water, have shown their support by sponsoring previous events.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the sponsors of our previous events as without them, we wouldn’t have been able to partake in this fantastic project,” Chelsea said.

One of Darlington’s most famous engineering firms sponsored the last event. Cleveland Bridge’s Marketing Manager, Fin Farrelly, said: “We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to sponsor this event. With our roots firmly in Darlington, we are committed to ensuring the area is a great place to live and work.

“We believe it is very important for local businesses to get involved in any way they can with these types of activities to help support the community.”

During 2018, Darlington Cares is hoping to host seven Pick, Pie and a Pint events, with the first being held in March.

If you would like to find out more about sponsoring one of the upcoming events, please email Chelsea.Johnson@darlington.gov.uk.

To find out more about Darlington Cares, its projects and volunteering opportunities, visit www.darlingtoncares.co.uk.

Twitter: @darlingtoncares

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey and Hugo .