Afternoon Tea galore
On Monday 27th November, we enjoyed welcoming local people, charities, and organisations into the Willows centre to meet our team, find out more about the work that we do, and to continue to build links and partnerships that ultimately act in service of the people of Swindon and the local area. These types of events are important as they are an opportunity for us to give back, to say thank you, and to celebrate not only the work we do, but the wonderful work and support of the people, organisations, and businesses in Swindon who champion our service in addition to supporting the community in their own unique ways.
Celebrating together
Our training room was transformed into a Christmas themed grotto, with a truly indulgent spread of afternoon tea and scrumptious Christmas treats being enjoyed by all who attended: the macarons appeared a particular favourite! Our staff team were joined by members of staff and trustees from many other invaluable community organisations; Wiltshire Community Foundation, Healthwatch, Zurich Community Trust, Christ Church and Prospect Place Conservation Trust to name but a few. It was a particular joy for us to also welcome several of our immediate neighbours from Prospect Place, some of whom had never had the opportunity to have a look around our building: an unfortunate occurrence which we of course remedied. It was also a great delight that many of our own trustees, counsellors, and trainers, past and present, were able to come together and celebrate in this way.
A special mention
This wonderful afternoon would not have been possible without the kindness and generosity of the Zurich Community Trust and their Festive Challenge. Challenge is Zurich’s flagship volunteering programme and is their biggest annual team volunteer event. Brokered by ZCT, it brings together employee teams from Zurich offices across the country to complete a one-off project which benefits a local voluntary organisation or school. Charities can submit a challenge request to be entered into the Challenge Brochure created and produced by Zurich Community Trust. Employee teams from Zurich offices across the country then have the opportunity to browse the brochure and select a change that their team will support. The whole team at Willows would like to extend our thanks to Zurich Community Trust, and in particular to Abigail and the Integrated Benefits Team, who selected our challenge request and very generously supported this event with the supply of afternoon tea and refreshments, as well as festive Christmas decorations. Thank you, the support you offer makes a huge difference to charities such as ours.
Thank you to all who joined us, it was a delight spending time with you all.