Many hands made light work for Birmingham charity

Many hands made light work when Rotarians from across the West Midlands joined forces for a special Impact Day at a charity in Edgbaston. Twenty-eight members from Handsworth, Mosely & Sparkbrook, Solihull St Alphege, Meriden and Lickey Hills Clubs and HROC marketing agency's own Rotary Club, came together to complete a number of building and maintenance tasks at Birmingham Settlement Nature & Wellbeing Centre. It marked a return visit to the Edgbaston charity site which works to tackle inequality by connecting and empowering people through action, support and shared learning. The volunteers were divided into three groups, completing projects including clearing large patches of weeds that can now be turned into a planting area for spring flowers, painting the seats of the outdoor amphitheatre, emptying an overflowing wood store and installing shelving. Organiser, Jonathan Wilding, said: 'All three groups took a real pride in looking at what they had achieved over the day, they also thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship of meeting other Rotarians and swapping ideas of potential projects. 'We all had a most enjoyable day today: finding a resource that many of us didn't know existed; working with people with a common goal; meeting new people and making a visible difference to the environment. It was a day were fellowship and service came together and we all left feeling that we'd made a difference.' Jackie Poynton, from HROC's Rotary Club, said: 'We all really enjoyed the day, even while battling the heat! It was our second time volunteering at the site, and it was fantastic to see the changes that had been made since our previous visit. Days like this are a brilliant opportunity to spend time with colleagues we might not usually get the chance to work alongside, while also meeting and getting to know other members of the Rotary community. We were all proud to get involved and play a small part.' Founded in 1899, Birmingham Settlement is one of the city's oldest charities, which works hand in hand with communities to improve financial resilience, support health and wellbeing and build stronger more sustainable connected communities where people can thrive. Eamon Reynolds, spokesperson for Birmingham Settlement, said: 'A big thank you to the Rotary club. As a small team it is a brilliant help to have their energy and enthusiasm and allows us to keep the space well maintained and appealing to the public.' Anyone with any ideas for the next Impact Day is invited to get in touch on jonathanwilding1958@gmail.com More information about Birmingham Settlement is available at: https://www.birminghamsettlement.org.uk/