Thrive, the charity that uses gardening to help disabled people, knows the added value both volunteering and gaining horticultural qualifications and skills can bring.
Gardening can change people’s lives by making people feel happier, more confident and healthier in so many ways. It can improve not only emotional health through being outdoors and working with plants but also physical health. It can be a very social activity which helps people connect and being outside getting fresh air and seeing things grow is important to us as human beings.
Nicola Carruthers, Chief Executive of Thrive says:
"Thrive offers a wealth of opportunities for volunteering and to gain recognised horticultural qualifications. We help disabled gardeners at our two garden projects gain qualifications and skills to increase their employability in paid or unpaid voluntary work and we help volunteers gain qualifications and skills to work in horticultural therapy."
Karen Edwards is a great example of someone who is disabled who has gained a qualification and skills in horticulture and has now gone on to be a volunteer at The Vyne run by National Trust in Hampshire.
Karen has mild learning difficulties and was very quiet and shy, with low self-esteem and no self-confidence when she first came to Thrive. Being at Thrive and taking a qualification in horticulture has increased her confidence and lead to this fantastic volunteering opportunity. She is also going to be part of a team of disabled gardeners growing and nurturing plants for use in Thrive’s small urban garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year.
Karen says "Coming to Thrive makes me feel excited. It means I meet lots of people and it makes me feel good about myself." Thrive also encourages the learning of life skills through gardening including using initiative, co-operation and concentration as well as numeracy and literacy all of which are useful in all areas of life. Of the 83 volunteers at Thrive, Vicki Parker-Scott is a great example. She started as a volunteer with Thrive in 2004. She had always loved gardening but suffered from ME for almost 10 years.
One of the long term effects was depression, osteoporosis and long term damage to her back. She was determined the illness would not beat her and was referred to STEP Forward, an organisation who helps people with depression or other mental health issues to gain employment. As part of this programme they recommended volunteering.
Her love of gardening led her to Thrive and she has since gained sufficient confidence to take and pass the RHS Certificate in Horticulture. This now enables her to not only be a volunteer but also to be a freelance Horticultural Therapist for Thrive one day a week.
Vicki Parker-Scott says "It never ceases to amaze me how clever plants are and how much joy and fulfilment gardening can bring."
If you would like to find out more about Thrive or are interested in volunteering at Thrive, please visit Thrive’s website at www.thrive.org.uk, call Thrive on 0118 988 5688 or email them at info@thrive.org.uk
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For further information please contact Emma Hall on 07956 307 382 or email Emma on emma@thesmallbusinessconsultancy.com
or Janet Carruzzo – after 24th February - on 0118 988 5688 or email janet.carruzzo@thrive.org.uk
Notes to editors
Volunteering at Thrive. Thrive would not be able to help nearly as many disabled people through gardening without the invaluable help of its volunteers. Each year Thrive receives over12, 000 hours of support from members of the public and from teams of corporate volunteers. 83 people volunteer at Thrive on a regular basis which is over double the number of staff the charity employs. In 2009, 760 corporate volunteers from 43 companies, provided over 6,000 hours of help and support.
Volunteers come to Thrive for many reasons; some to gain skills and experience, to give something back in their local community or others as an interim step to employment. Companies also send volunteer groups as a team building exercise. Volunteers help the charity in a wide variety of ways from office and administrative work, gardening, supporting disabled gardeners to getting involved with events and even helping with fundraising activities.
Thrive was set up in 1978 and is a national charity that operates in the field of disability and gardening. It provides information and specialist services, training and structured gardening horticultural programmes which help thousands of disabled people. Thrive is a registered charity no. 277570
Student Volunteering Week will take place between 22-28 February 2010. The week was established in 2001 and is now an annual fixture in the calendar for the student volunteering sector. The week raises the national profile of Further and Higher Education volunteering. The theme for 2010 is 'Inspiring futures; connecting communities’. Working with stakeholders from all sectors, Student Volunteering Week 2010 will highlight the benefits of student volunteering to the private, public and voluntary and community sectors.