From filling and dishing out hay bags to litter picking and even repainting the stage at Stockton Globe, college staff have been out in the community making Time for Tees.
The annual event, launched by the Education Training Collective (Etc.), urges staff to take time out from the day job to give practical help to good causes.
“This is our way of hopefully making a real hands-on difference in our local communities, by taking a day to help out in whatever way we can, and do something completely different to the day job,” said Etc. chief executive and group principal Grant Glendinning.
This summer, for Etc. staff that included cleaning up after and caring for the horses at the RDA Unicorn Centre in Hemlington, gardening and maintenance work at True Lovers Walk in Yarm, cutting back branches at Kirkleatham Woods, scrubbing the fencing at Stockton Rugby Club, and a whole host of maintenance jobs at The Chris Cave Foundation Cavey’s Cabin.
Volunteers helped sort donations at the Daisy Chain Charity Megastore and Billingham and Stockton Borough Foodbank, and litter pickers were out in force at Seaton Carew, the Tees Barrage and in Low Grange, Billingham.
Not afraid to muck in, the college group saw a team helping at Daisy Chain in Norton, volunteers marshalled at the Albert Park Run, a fundraising dog walk brought in donations for Maxi’s Mates, while others painted the stage at Stockton Globe.
The Etc. incorporates Bede Sixth Form College, Innersummit, NETA Training, Redcar and Cleveland College and Stockton Riverside College.
More than 200 staff gave their time to around 18 projects across the Tees Valley.
Among them, seven volunteers rolled up their sleeves for The Chris Cave Foundation, a charity set up to deter young people from carrying a knife or gun, raising awareness of the dangers to help prevent street violence.
The Etc. staff repainted the cabin, pulled up weeds, laid bags of bark, and helped with odd jobs around Cavey’s Cabin, a community space in Locke Park, Redcar, where families can take part in a host of organised activities together to support their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Theresa Cave, founder and chief executive of The Chris Cave Foundation, said: “As always, the Etc. team did such a fantastic job at Cavey’s Cabin. It was overgrown with weeds and had graffiti on the walls and the team worked so hard painting, weeding and laying the new bark, it looks beautiful. I am so grateful to the team who gave up a lovely sunny day to help us.”
Two further teams spent the day at the Unicorn Centre, a member group of the Riding for the Disabled Association, where they mucked in with the care of the horses, both cleaning up and serving up hay bags for lunch.
Etc. business development officer, Samantha Colman, who is also a trustee at the Unicorn Centre said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Education Training Collective for their recent support. Their volunteers have made a real difference, helping us continue to provide life-changing experiences for our riders and their families.
“As a small charity relying on donations and volunteer help, this kind of kindness is vital. We truly couldn’t do what we do without it.”
Meanwhile staff lent a helping hand to Friends of True Lovers Walk in Yarm, preparing and staining benches, clearing debris and overgrown areas of Yarm Wharf and the riverside pathway.
Friends of True Lovers Walk’s Melanie Farman said: “We were delighted to welcome two teams of staff from Etc. as part of the Time for Tees initiative. The volunteers worked extremely hard and were very enthusiastic on both days, day two being particularly challenging as temperatures peaked at around 30 degrees.
“Having community volunteers come and work with us means we can carry out a significant amount of work that might normally take us a few days. The teams really gave us 100%. A huge thank you to all, we appreciated you and your time.”
