Franklin’s Volunteering Afternoon
Last week, Franklin House Captains spent an inspiring afternoon volunteering for our chosen charity, Save the World. This organisation is dedicated to raising awareness about environmental sustainability and encouraging communities to take action in protecting our planet. Their mission focuses on reducing landfill waste by rescuing and recycling goods that would otherwise be discarded.
During our visit, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work transforming the pet section of the warehouse. By reorganising and tidying the area, we made it easier for visitors to browse and find what they needed. It was incredibly rewarding to see the impact of our efforts in such a visible way.
We didn’t stop there -we also helped sort and clean the kitchen equipment and glassware sections, ensuring everything was neatly displayed and ready for reuse. It was a fantastic experience that reminded us how small actions can contribute to a much bigger cause!
Nightingale’s Volunteering Afternoon
This year, Nightingale House is proud to support Voices of Hope, a charity dedicated to helping women who have experienced abuse and domestic violence. Their work goes beyond support services – they also run the Brite Box initiative, which provides children in need with boxes filled with ingredients and simple, nutritious recipes to cook at home.
As part of our volunteering efforts, we helped prepare these Brite Boxes by organising tinned food and recipe leaflets, making sure everything was ready to be sent out to schools. It was a meaningful experience to know that our small actions could brighten someone’s day and bring a sense of care and community to those who need it most.
Being involved in this project reminded us how powerful kindness can be, and how even the simplest tasks can make a real difference!
Curie’s Volunteering Afternoon
Skylarks is a small charity based in Twickenham that supports children from ages 0-25 with disabilities and additional needs (such as autism, Down syndrome and paralysis) , as well as also supporting their parents and siblings. They have been steadily growing for 20 years and rely mostly on donations from families, even though all their services are completely free to anyone who needs it. After our volunteering day, we have seen first-hand the immensely positive atmosphere they create for everyone involved. They gave us an informative presentation about the services they provide, including fun activities for families, play sessions, karate, drama classes , arts, yoga, and even osteotherapy appointments – so every child can discover their passion.
During our day, we helped plant donated bulbs from Squires Garden Centre at the new location Skylarks have opened. This was a rewarding experience as we got to witness the effort the staff and volunteers at Skylarks put into every aspect of their charity, and we learnt how important it was for them to create a safe space for all.
Park’s Volunteering Afternoon
We visited the charity Grow Baby in Kingston. The aim of our trip was to gain a greater understanding of what the charity does to support our local community. We got to see how they help families in need by building relationships with those who need help with providing clothing, toys, nappies, and buggies for their children.
The charity began supporting families in 2003 in Kingston, and since then, 40 have grown around the UK. The charity is a smaller part of the larger organisation that supports communities all over the world. One of their aims is to gradually increase financial independence for families, and as part of this, they have a store called the “pantry”. This is in addition to their food banks, and it allows families to buy food for less than supermarket prices. They told us that last Christmas they were able to give 3000 gifts to children aged between 0-25, all of which would have received nothing on Christmas Day.
During our trip there, we helped the volunteers to sort out the bookshelf into different categories, organise nappies into different age categories, and bags into the larger and smaller, plastic ones. This was to help the visiting families, so that when they came to collect what they needed, they were able to find exactly what they wanted. The trip as a whole was very insightful, and we are all grateful to have a greater understanding of what the charity does, and we look forward to continuing to support them through the School year.
