a tour of the park, an excellent group, Christian Church, Christian faith, Community Engagement, encourage positive attitudes, planting bulbs and seeds, youth engagement,
Friday 24th July 2015
A team of 10 young people from the Leicester branch of the Victory Youth Group (VYG) gave up their leisure time on Saturday 18 July to clear an overgrown area at Monks Rest Gardens.
The group was taking part in the VYG’s We Care! – Youth Engagement which is a Community Engagement initiative, which seeks to provide young people with opportunities to help their local communities and to encourage positive attitudes towards the young.
An approach was made to Mrs Jane Ushwell, the parks manager for Leicester City Council Parks Services, and following a meeting with Mrs Ushwell and her colleague Paul Barker, the VYG committed to a six-hour day of intensive gardening work.
This would involve working on areas either side of one of the entrances to Monks Rest Gardens, which are situated in Humberstone village three miles east of Leicester city centre.
The tasks to be undertaken included pulling and digging out weeds, raking the ground, further digging and turning over the soil, planting bulbs and seeds and removing dead bushes. There were also branches to cut back and poisonous plants to dig out, and by the end of the session all green waste had to be cleared and carried to the wagon that would take it away.
When the youths arrived on site, promptly at 9.30am, Paul took them on a tour of the park, explained his role, went through the procedures for registration, first aid, health and safety, sharps and using the equipment safely.
Everyone worked hard and well together as a team, so that Paul was very pleased with their efforts, and they even managed to finish early. He praised them generously and said that they worked harder than he anticipated and should be proud of themselves. “It was a very pleasurable day with an excellent group,” he concluded.
Ransford Davidson of the VYG said: “It was productive and I really enjoyed being a part of this action”.
ENDS
Notes to editors
UCKG is a Christian church and registered charity that offers a range of practical support activities alongside spiritual support and comfort and welcomes all-comers. It reached the UK in 1995 and has gone from strength to strength, providing support and spreading the Christian faith. There are UCKG HelpCentre branches in England and Wales.
VYG is the UCKG HelpCentre’s youth group. Open to 15 – 25 year olds, the VYG provides family-style peer group support and helps and encourages the young to be the best that they can be.
For further information please contact the UCKG HelpCentre Press Officer via e-mail on press@uckgnew.org or direct line 020 7686 6033.
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