Arco volunteers give up 1,000 hours for good causes

SUPPORT: Arco volunteers at Mires Beck Nursery in North Cave

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

Kind-hearted staff at Hull-based safety giant Arco have carried out almost 1,000 hours of voluntary work over the past year.

Since July last year, 169 Arco colleagues have contributed a total of 966 hours to volunteering in their communities, supporting many different organisations, including Age UK and the Royal British Legion.

Everyone who works for Arco is encouraged to take two paid days out of the business each year to volunteer for causes that matter to them.

In April, Arco staff dedicated one of their volunteering days to supporting Mires Beck Nursery in North Cave, which provides work experience and social therapeutic horticulture for adults with learning difficulties.

The volunteers helped replant hawthorn trees, added fresh coats of paint to the office building, and worked in the perennials garden.

REWARDING: Arco volunteers hard at work

Arco project manager Nicola Litten, who took part in the volunteering day, said: “There were many daily tasks to complete, so we split into small groups to work alongside the service users and their staff to crack on with painting the outside of the building, pot on perennial plants or work in the tree section to tidy up hawthorn saplings.

“It was a very rewarding and insightful day to be able to support a local charity, and get some fresh air out of the office! I would highly recommend it to any other Arco colleagues.”

Another volunteering day saw a group of staff help tidy up Humber Bridge Country Park in Hessle.

Arco has lined up a number of different volunteering opportunities for staff this month, including helping plant a new wildlife garden for east Hull charity EMS (Environmental & Management Solutions), and sorting stock for Dove Hose Hospice charity shops.

Next month, volunteers will help long-standing Arco charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support reinvigorate a patient garden space at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.

Di Hopper, chief people officer at Arco, said: “This Volunteers’ Week, we’d like to thank all the amazing individuals from Arco who have given time to support charity or community projects in need of valuable time and help.

“It is lovely to hear just how much our colleagues have enjoyed, learnt and taken away from the experience, as well as how much the organisations have benefited.

“We encourage all our staff to take two volunteering days a years, as part of our commitment to being a responsible choice of employer and expert safety partner. 

“We hope our volunteers inspire many more people make a difference over the next 12 months.”

This week is Volunteer Week, which celebrates the UK’s volunteers for all they contribute to local communities, the voluntary sector, and society as a whole.

Volunteer Week, first established in 1984, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the same year Arco celebrates it 140th.