In Good Company
New Hope is really fortunate to be well connected with a wide range of community and faith groups, schools and businesses in Watford and we are often surprised by the generosity of people in the local area. Over the last couple of weeks, a number of local businesses have been in touch with offers of items or volunteering time to support the work that we do.
Cultivate were thrilled to receive generous donations of a beautiful rose from the Beardy Gardener and David Austin Roses which has been installed in the calming wellbeing corner at the Haven - we can’t wait to see it in full bloom, adding a splash of colour and aroma to the outdoor space. Aylett Nurseries kindly donated bags of seeds to be used during gardening activities with the Cultivate team along with the planter (used for the aforementioned rose) and a very generous gift card.
Warner Brothers Productions also reached out to us with an offer of items left over from recent filming at Leavesden Studios. A huge range of donations came in and while many items have already found their way to our accommodations and support services, any items that couldn’t be used by residents and service users are now available to buy in our Watford Charity Shop to raise vital funds needed to keep New Hope running at full capacity. Coats have gone to the Haven ready for the winter, soft furnishings and homewares will mostly help people to settle into their own places after a period of homelessness and we’ve used a number of brightly coloured cushions to brighten up a social space at the Emergency Accommodation.
A great deal of corporate volunteering has taken place and is booked in for later in the month with staff from Vinci helping to bring some colour to a support space used by the Tenancy Sustainment Team, Hilton Hotel Group are helping the Cultivate team with gardening at the Haven and Insinkerator will be joining us to prepare and serve the Haven breakfast later in the month. Finally, we are really excited to say that The Social Dough Company will be coming by next week to cook freshly-made stone-baked pizzas for our service users. The Social Dough Company have supported us with meals a number of times since the lockdowns eased and it’s always a treat to get high quality pizzas for anyone staying in our accommodation services.
We are always extremely grateful for the support of local businesses, be that in volunteering time or supporting us with goods, services or monetary donations - every donation we receive has a place in the bigger picture of what it takes to make New Hope run and to provide the highest level of support we are able to vulnerable people with experiences of homelessness.
If your business would like to make a donation or are interested in volunteering opportunities, please do get in touch with Hilary Garcia from the Fundraising and Communications team by email or by calling 01923 227132.