Team Building Challenge where Maximus Make the Difference
The Sussex Deaf Association supports those who are profoundly deaf throughout the Sussex area. The organisation has been has been running since 1905 and although it supports hundreds of service users each year, it struggles to find funding to maintain the services. For many of the service users, the ability to communicate and make friends with other people is one of the most important benefits that the Sussex Deaf Association can offer. A recent event with BCP saw the transformation of their garden from a dull and lifeless plot of land into a vibrant area, where clients can now plant, grow, learn and communicate.
The 12 volunteers from the Maximus SSK Leadership Team began their work at 9am and spent the day painting, building walls and raised beds, fixing fences and laying woodchip and compost. In order to maximise their time, the team split into two groups, one to garden and one to build. The gardening team weeded and cleared the garden of rubbish and the building team undertook the challenge of building a gate, repairing a fence, building a dry stone wall, a gravel garden and a compost bin!
In a matter of hours the garden had been transformed into a welcoming and resourceful place that service users can now continue to develop themselves. In order to further support the community all the materials were purchased and obtained from local social enterprises. The wood was purchased from The Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project, who were impressed with the objectives and therefore pre-cut and delivered all the wood for free - they even donated a wooden planter! The woodchip and bark was kindly donated by the Nourish Community Farm located in Stanmer Park, Brighton. All the organic waste was put into the newly built compost bin to ensure nothing was unused.
Tricia Mitchell, the manager of the centre said "What an amazing transformation in one day as if a magic wand had been waived. It was a real community spirit that changed a derelict, uneven site into a usable and sustainable eco-friendly green space. All our staff, volunteers and users of our centre can plan and use the area now and in future generations to come. Everyone at the deaf centre is completely stunned, amazed, excited and thankful at the transformation of the space in a day. A fantastic group of hero's and heroine's who we thank from the bottom of our hearts as this could never have been achieved without their help and commitment. Grateful thanks to Maximus and The Business Community Partnership for arranging this event, for doing such a fantastic job and making such a difference to our community. Thank you all!"
Aimee Izzard the team leader said, "It was a total team effort and with the sun shining the project was soon acheived. With lots of fun and banter it was a great opportunity to be together and have fun whilst being creative".
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