KC volunteers at Bransholme Community Allotment and Woodland

Curry plants, eucalyptus and lavender are just some of the plants growing in a new sensory garden at the Bransholme Community Allotment, thanks to volunteers from KC. 

Seven KC employees were linked up with Bransholme Enterprises by Hull and Humber KC Cares, Business in the Community’s (BITC) employee volunteering programme. 

Bransholme Enterprises is a social enterprise based in the North Carr area of Bransholme whose work centres on the themes of environment, community and health., At its community allotment and woodland sites on Noddle Hill Way it offers accredited basic horticultural courses.  The courses are free for unemployed people and also teach ‘soft skills’ like teamwork and communication to increase attendees’ chances of gaining employment. 

Enterprise Manager Kaye Sullivan said: “As a social enterprise, support from businesses, in the form of both time and money, is essential to sustain the delivery of our programmes, which support the local community. 

“The KC employees worked with the allotment and woodland teams to establish a new sensory garden, which was funded through a KC Community Grant we received earlier this year. The sensory garden was inspired by a young boy who came to us on a school visit. As he’d been blind from birth, the team found it hard to describe the allotment and the plants being grown to him, so they came up with the idea of the sensory garden as a different way for people to experience the allotment. The volunteers were great and I and the whole team would like to thank them for the time they gave us.” 

Volunteers on the day included employees from KC’s marketing, engineering, sales and HR teams. Amongst those taking part was Business Marketing Executive Rhiannon Thomas-Osborne, who said: “We had such a good day with the Bransholme Enterprises team. As well as helping them with planting and woodland maintenance, we heard some inspiring stories of how people have turned their lives around and been supported by the project. It was great to be able to go out into our local community and be a part of something so worthwhile.” 

Tessa Wray, KC Cares Business Manager, said: “We work in partnership with businesses to help identify opportunities for their people to volunteer in their local communities. This delivers benefits for the business, their people and local communities, so it’s a win win situation for all involved.” 

To find out more about how to get involved in the Hull & Humber KC Cares programme please call Tessa Wray, KC Cares Business Manager on  (01482) 638610 or email:  tessa.wray@bitc.org.uk

To find out more about the work of Bransholme Enterprises, please visit their website.