On the 4th of July, with the weather on side, our colleagues at Motability Operations took time out from the day to day and spent a day with Marlene Reid Centre (MRC) in Coalville.
The Marlene Reid Centre is a non-profit charity with the aim of improving the quality of life for families and individuals in North- west Leicestershire through positive community interaction. Built in 1881 as a former chapel, the building houses multiple activities including a mental health café, social supermarket, exercise classes and children’s activities. The centre also encourages participation through volunteering opportunities for people with additional needs though its “re-use” project which collects, upcycles and sells used furniture.
With all these wonderful things going on inside the building the centre got in touch with Leicestershire Cares to seek help with the outside space, though our community “team challenge” programme.
Team challenges link teams of business volunteers with community settings to make positive change through practical activities such as DIY and gardening. With Motability Operations being a Coalville based business they were delighted to “accept the challenge” of transforming a neglected garden space at the centre.
The garden space is situated at the front of the impressive building, however had been neglected for nearly 10 years; with overgrown bushes attracting littering, staff at the centre felt this sunny corner of the centre could be put to better use as an outside seating space for both service users and volunteers.
The team undertook a number of tasks including jet washing paved areas, painting the railings and clearing the overgrown, littered areas. An old seating bench was bought back to life with a lick of paint – upholding the ethos of MRC’s upcycling and sustainability.
The team had a positive day and got to know each other better as colleagues with the added bonus of them wanting to return to do more at the centre – they had a lot of ideas to extend work on the garden which will hopefully include a pebbled area and flower beds. The staff at the centre were delighted to see the garden area looking much tidier and have some ideas for how they will utilise the space in the future.