Team members at a leading process filter maker joined an army of fellow corporate volunteers to help a social enterprise clear more than a million leaves from its grounds.
Nine colleagues from Surrey-based Amazon Filters spent a day outside Frimhurst Family House in Frimley Green equipped with rakes, spades, bags and gloves to do their bit and complete the mammoth task.
It followed a request from community interest company Frimhurst Enterprises which uses the Victorian building as a base to offer adults with learning disabilities a chance to develop life skills, independence and work experience.
Frimhurst House also supports families in crisis by offering respite from poverty, discrimination and social exclusion. Its grounds extend to seven acres of park and woodland, hence the need to keep on top of a huge volume of leaf debris that can turn acidic if not removed from the grass.
Amazon Filters’ involvement in the ‘Festive Frimhurst’ clean-up was brokered by the firm’s volunteering partner CMPP, the Community Matters Partnership Project.
It brought the number of CMPP volunteering days achieved by Amazon Filters’ Surrey staff to 55 this year, up from 47 in 2022.
Ruth Pappadakis, Head of People & Culture at Amazon Filters, said: “What better way to spend a cold and rainy day than clearing more than a million leaves from the grounds of a great charity with a great team of people, including from other businesses and organisations."
“We heard heartwarming stories of how Frimhurst House helps vulnerable families and knowing that we’ve contributed to that in some way really is amazing."
“We’re gradually ramping up the number of volunteering days we do each year and are already looking forward to 2024 and seeing where else we can help."
“Volunteering enables our local staff to give something back to the community and that supports wellbeing, workplace values and company culture.”
On another recent CMPP day, Amazon Filters staff helped plant 300 saplings in the grounds of Challengers, a play centre for disabled children in Guildford.
Previous projects have included clearing the pond area at Lorraine Infant School, gardening services at Reg’s Garden in Farnborough, general maintenance at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and beach cleans at Littlehampton and Hayling Island.
Community volunteers from Amazon Filters represent a range of departments at the firm’s Albany Park, Frimley, production centre. They include engineering, fabrication and office-based roles.
CMPP Corporate Volunteer Manager Rachel Austen said: “A huge thank you to the Amazon Filters team for coming to our Festive Frimhurst Annual Volunteering Day. Amazon Filters always come fully prepared and full of determination and energy to give back so we can't thank you enough for your support."
“It is so wonderful to see over 100 volunteers coming together from 16 different local companies to give back to Frimhurst Family House, who offer holidays to families in deprivation."
“A simple task of raking leaves but what a difference this has made to this charity and to the families that will stay there.”
Amazon Filters became a CMPP business partner in November 2021.
