Published on: Tuesday 21 Jun 2016 at 08:32
A team of kind-hearted accountants braved the inclement weather to lend a much-needed, green-fingered hand in St Clare’s gardens.
Six members of the team from Loughton-based firm, Haslers Chartered Accountants, volunteered a day of their time to support St Clare Hospice as part of their community programme. The team’s spirits were not dampened by the torrential downpours which fell in the charity’s gardens on Monday 13 June and their support means that the beautiful grounds continue to benefit patients and families.
Laurence Jacobs, Chairman of the firm, said: “We chose to support St Clare because they are our local Hospice, but also because we have a very personal connection to the charity. Sadly we lost one of our employees, Charlotte James, who passed away at St Clare’s in 2014 at the age of just 20 years. Every year we support local charities through volunteering and a group of us wanted to give something back to the Hospice in memory of Charlotte.”
Commenting on their day in the Hospice gardens, Laurence said: “We thought we would be lucky with the weather, choosing to volunteer in June, but as always the British weather was unpredictable! There was a huge, torrential downpour but we all still stayed outside – sweeping, weeding and sprucing up the gardens. The grounds of the Hospice really are beautiful and you can see what a difference it makes to patients and families to have peaceful surroundings. It was good for our team-building to persevere even against the elements!”
Amy Jacobs, St Clare Corporate Partnerships Manager, said: “We were delighted to have the team from Haslers come and spend the day with us. It is so important for St Clare to build mutual partnerships with our local firms and offering volunteering team days is just one of the ways we can help each other. We have a close bond with Haslers and one of their Partners, Jon O’Shea, ran 7 marathons in 7 days across 7 continents to raise funds for us after Charlotte passed away. It is wonderful to have such a good relationship with the firm and we look forward to finding new ways to partner with them in the future.”
For more information about the Corporate Partnership opportunities with St Clare Hospice contact St Clare Corporate Partnerships Manager Amy Jacobs
by email at amy.jacobs@stclarehospice.org.uk or by phone on 01279 773758