Green-fingered volunteers from Lloyds transform hospital gardens

The Group has made a commitment to deliver 2.3m volunteering hours by 2020 through its ‘Day to Make a Difference’ programme where its colleagues are given at least one day per year to take part in voluntary work.

16 employees from the banking group decided to spend their time in the gardens at Weston General Hospital this week, taking on tasks such as weeding, pruning and cleaning up the court yards.

Jo Newey, a Lloyds Banking Group employee and chairperson of Radio Sunshine, Weston’s hospital in-house radio station, organised the volunteering opportunity.

Speaking on the programme, Jo said: “Everyone at Lloyds’ is encouraged to take at least one day each year for volunteering purposes. I spotted an opportunity to help Weston General Hospital by getting the team involved for this year’s Day to Make a Difference.

“I came up with the suggestion of cleaning the hospital grounds and I was delighted by the response. My green-fingered colleagues were really excited to come down and not only help to improve the hospital grounds for the benefit of all, but also help the Group deliver one of the commitments it made within our Helping Britain Prosper Plan.

“Improving the courtyard garden for Weston General Hospital offers a chance to give something back and it has given everyone in our team the opportunity to make a real difference for the staff and patients who will enjoy the revamped garden."

Sheridan Flavin, Director of Human Resources, added: "I am delighted that Lloyds Banking Group’s volunteers chose Weston General Hospital to give their time to.

“Projects like this are hugely appreciated and I can’t say enough about our volunteers who make a huge difference to this hospital every day.

“Thank you to the volunteers from Lloyds for coming down to help improve our gardens and court yards. Thanks also to Jo for organising this with help from our own Estates team.

“The volunteers worked extremely hard and our gardens and courtyard have been transformed into a tidier, more welcoming space for the hospital's staff, patients and visitors. Enhancing our outside spaces makes a real difference to the experience people have at our hospital and the changes will have an immediate impact.”

The Trust is always looking for new volunteers – in particular people who would like to help out in the gardens as part of the hospital’s ‘Green Team’.

If you’d like to find about more about volunteering please visit www.waht.nhs.uk and head to the ‘Working with us’ and then ‘Volunteering’ pages.