Creating happier communities
Working with our partners, we’ve been busy doing what we can to help improve some of our communities across the country to lend a hand, tidy up, and give back.
Take a look at what we’ve been up to recently:
Leominster customers celebrate community heritage
Customers at Newman House, Leominster, are enjoying their new outside space, created by three businesses working in the community, to celebrate the memory of the inspirational historical figure who founded the house they now live in.
A joint effort between Orphans Press, Platform Partnership Care and Stonewater has led to a new ‘Happy to Chat’ bench and an apple tree being placed in the garden of Newman House – a former orphanage which was named after its founder, businessman and philanthropist Henry Newman.
During the celebrations, the team also helped to clear the garden of waste and weeds, and planted some new flowers for customers to enjoy.
Helen Bowden, Director at Orphans Press, said: “We’re celebrating 150 years of our business, Orphans Press, which was also founded by Henry Newman. He set up (Newman House) in 1869 for anyone who had lost their parents from anywhere in the country. Orphans Press was started by Henry Newman to give the orphans a trade and an income, and being a Quaker, he used the press to create materials for his missionary work.
“We wanted to celebrate his story, which was all about putting something back into the community. When it was first built, there was an orchard surrounding the home so we thought planting an apple tree was the thing to do. It’s a Herefordshire Russet tree going in, so it’s a local variety and a big part of the heritage of the home for me. I hope everyone who lives here will enjoy eating the apples.”
Helen Bowden, Director at Orphans Press, with a Platform Property Care operative planting the tree
Newman House is now home to eleven customers, and Orphans Press worked with Stonewater and Platform Property Care to help mark the occasion, including the installation of the new bench.
The new bench is made from recyclable materials and encourages anyone who sits there to spark up a conversation with someone thanks to a special message on its plaque.
Danielle Camden, who lives at the scheme, said: “(The new bench) is nice, it gives everyone somewhere to sit so we can see nice views. There wasn’t anywhere to sit outside before so this adds to it and gives me and my friends somewhere to go.”
The Happy to Chat bench at Newman House is the latest of its kind to be installed in Stonewater communities, following benches being delivered to schemes in Smethwick and Dudley.
Helen Holland, Connected Communities Peer Leader at Stonewater, said: “We’re so thrilled that Stonewater can be part of such a positive and essential initiative. We understand how necessary it can be for people to be able to chat to others, especially given the difficulties we’ve all faced over the last few years. We’re glad to be able to help strengthen the sense of community among new and future residents.”
Happy to Chat benches, an idea created by Alison Owen Jones, are designed to help tackle social isolation, and since the first one was installed in Cardiff, the benches have spread across the world. You can find out more about Happy to Chat benches here.
Restoring the gardens at Brailsford Drive
Take a look what happened when we asked Bell Group to help our customers at Brailsford Drive, West Midlands:
Contractors pitch in to clear up for customers
Members of the Stonewater team joined forces with Just Ask and Ian Williams to help clear up at a Berkshire community.
While at Monks Barn, Just Ask cleared the area of rubbish and arranged for some bulky items to be collected that had been dumped at the scheme, with Ian Williams on hand to speak to customers about their kitchen installs and to carry out come repairs.
Take a look at the photos below:
