A team of volunteers from Sellafield Ltd’s Warrington offices took up the challenge to transform a charity on the outskirts of the town – and exceeded expectations.
More than 80 people from the company and its local supply chain partners took on some much-needed renovation work at the Nugent Horticultural Training Centre on Friday, 16 June.
The team, more used to deliver complex nuclear projects for the Sellafield site in Cumbria, got the chance to get their hands dirty – taking on a huge amount of gardening, bricklaying, joinery and painting.
And the results were there for all to see at the end of the day.
Pauline Deans, Community Liaison Officer at Sellafield Ltd, said: “We have a long history of supporting our local communities – this year’s challenge needed people with gardening, bricklaying, pointing, painting and joinery skills.
“As well as benefiting the charity and those who attend the centre, the challenge helps our employees to develop leadership, team working and observation skills and puts into practice the principles of social responsibility. The community challenge has a key role to play in ongoing team building.”
The centre, managed by charitable organisation Nugent Care, is a community based project which supports adults with learning disabilities, with skills in gardening and ground maintenance. Offering a friendly, joyful and welcoming environment, the centre is a source of learning, social interaction and relaxation for service users.
Sellafield Ltd employs more than 1,200 people in Warrington, working in a variety of roles including project management, engineering and design.
Nugent Care Specialist Support Worker Andy Sixsmith added: “We really appreciate the support of Sellafield Ltd staff for helping us transform the centre. This will make the centre a more attractive environment for us to provide the necessary training to our service users, including those that were there helping today.
“I was absolutely delighted to see the end results and was emotional about what it means to everyone here at the horticultural centre.
“We can now train the people who attend to gain NVQ qualifications for the first time in 20 years, which will hopefully lead to employment opportunities. We will also be able to increase the number of people we train in future.”
John O’Brien, Head of Engineering Design at Sellafield Ltd said: “The community challenge once again has been set up as an opportunity for the teams to get to know each other in a fun, non-work environment, whilst having the satisfaction of putting something back into the local community.
“It was great to see the positive impact this has had on the team at the centre and I hugely valued being part of a team effort and engaging with my colleagues.
“It really does make a huge difference to the community.”
