We have a volunteering “boot camp” with a difference starting this month at Snakehall Farm. Forget your lounge based Wicks workout or your daily Boris walk we can offer you a different way to get fit, an 18 acre farm needs volunteers to help weed and get ready for the big harvest of 2020.
We are an 18 acre care farm, but in light of the recent pandemic we have closed our farm gates to our co-workers (adults with additional needs) and are working on a rota based tiny workforce. Because of this, we are finding it hard to keep on top of the weeding and watering at Snakehall Farm. Being organic, we do not use any chemicals, which makes our veg taste great but the care of the crops is more laborious.
We are looking for volunteers to come in for a couple of hours a day, ideally in the mornings when it is not too hot in the polytunnels. We are all abiding by social distancing rules, so we would ask that our volunteers do the same. The idea is that we will set a task away from other staff and once completed, our volunteers can go home. We have all the tools and equipment necessary, but we ask that you bring in your own gloves, and wear good boots. Toe protectors would be ideal, but not vital, as we wouldn’t be asking you to use any tools that are deemed dangerous. We also ask that you bring in your own tea/coffee/water to avoid cross contamination.
Interested? Give us a call to find out our next available slot or email [email protected] for more details.
Simply donate your lockdown Haircut or beard trim cost savings to our Bad Hair Do Care fundraising appeal and help keep our farm growing while our Co-workers are socially shielding.
Step 2: Share your Bad Hair photo on our @TillyTractor Facebook Page with your donation AND nominate your usual hairdresser or barber* to win a Produce Hamper full of goodies from The Prospects Trust at Snakehall Farm & Prospects Trust Unwrapped. Use the #BadHairDoCare.
Step 3: Grab the scissors and a bowl………………………..there’s only a week between a bad and a good haircut!
*for logistic reasons only please ensure your nominated hairdresser/barber is based in a 20 mile radius of CB25 0HZ or CB7 4EG,
Ely’s first
zero waste greengrocery and refill larder, Prospects Trust Unwrapped, made a special
top of the class delivery to its friends at Highfield Ely today while on their
busy home delivery rounds. Highfield
School learners have been part of the social enterprise since it opened last
September and the team at Unwrapped wanted to send some treats to their
frontline friends.
Prospects
Trust Unwrapped had to transform its retail offering practically overnight with
the early warnings of Covid-19 and in just once month has turned from a “buy
just what you need” busy and bustling shop into a non-contact home delivery
service of larder bulk buys. As a
registered charity that supports people with additional needs, their mission is
#survivetothrive until the time that Unwrapped can reopen and continue to
provide innovative social care placements in the shop.
Tom
Cockerton, Manager of Prospects Trust Unwrapped said “we have been astounded, and
at times overwhelmed, by the swell of customer orders and loyal support to our
social enterprise. It helped that for a short
while we were the only shop in Ely to have toilet rolls and bread yeast, which
we still have in regular supply. Our
customers are now making weekly orders of our fruit and veg boxes stocked with seasonal
and organic produce as well as their core staples of porridge oats and coffee
beans. I like to think in a small way we
are not just providing critical groceries we are also keeping in touch with our
customer fan base”.
Prospects
Trust Unwrapped closed its café and put a temporary halt to training placements
at the end of March before the national lock down began as a quick measure to
keep everyone safe, especially their Co-worker trainees. Overnight the shop created
a basic online delivery form, using the skills of a returning Uni student and harnessing
the whole of the small workforce, launched Unwrapped Home Delivery.
Customers
can now select all their regular store cupboard basics and get their family’s five-a-day
weekly veg & fruit online. The staff
team prepare the order and give a phone call to the customer to let them know when
to expect a non-contact doorstep delivery.
Clare Rees, Unwrapped Support Worker said “we are proud that we can
still continue to provide that friendly personal service, something our shielding
and vulnerable customers really need in these times.”
Maz
Baker, Development Manager for The Prospects Trust said “as a small charity we
are facing the hardest of times, as are so many other frontline services and
social good causes. Nobody is excluded
from the challenges of Covid-19 but as a charity we want to #StrivetoThrive. We felt it was right to reach out to other
organisations that are providing frontline care to keyworker children, and, our
special friends at Highfield School. The
best way to survive is to support each other.
We hope that people will continue to support us by shopping with us at
Unwrapped”.
The
Prospects Trust has launched a charity appeal, #Survive to Thrive to help the
30 year old charity weather the lockdown and be ready for a bumper harvest with
the Co-workers (adults with additional needs) once they are safe to return to
their day placements at Snakehall Farm, at Unwrapped and on the Garden
Team. Donations can be made https://localgiving.org/appeal/survivetothrive/
or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tilly.tractor/posts/2936117949758755.
Prospects
Trust Unwrapped was selected as an Aviva Community Fund good cause before the outbreak
of Covid-19 and due to the challenging circumstances, Aviva has extended their Crowdfunding
period, donations to support Unwrapped can be made online at: https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/refill-not-landfill
We are working closely with .Gov Guidelines and Cambridgeshire County Council to ensure we operate safely at Snakehall Farm and Prospects Trust Unwrapped. With the vital importance of Socially Distancing for our Co-workers we have now CLOSED TO CO-WORKER PLACEMENTS. For more details visit our COVID-19 Pages.
We have until lunchtime of the April 22nd to raise £3000 in pledges. We want to Unwrap Unwrapped further and we need your help! Click here to go to the Aviva Crowdfunder Page and pledge your support to The Prospects Trust.
Prospects Trust Unwrapped opened in September 2019 and has started a refill revolution for the local consumers of Ely, but more vitally, it has become the little shop where magic happens. The Prospects Trust wanted to open a REAL shop to provide REAL work-based training opportunities for people with additional needs. It wanted to create an outlet for all the organic produce sown, grown and harvested by their Snakehall Farm Co-workers and it wanted to give Ely a different way to shop. In just six months, Unwrapped has been created, launched and now offers 18 placements per week to individuals with additional needs. Unwrapped has already supported 4 learners gain accredited qualifications in retail and food safety and has just enrolled a further 7 learners for 2020. Unwrapped has created retail opportunities for over 15 local eco artisans in their Craftisan Pods. Unwrapped has created a sustainable solution to single-use plastic with its novel Refill Larder Wall and loose produce baskets.
Co-workers creating new dishes from local produce
Now we want to UNWRAP the outside. We wish to transform the outside of the shop front into an accessible cafe area, with raised bed planters and cycle racks, doggie area and pushchair park. We want to offer more space for more locals to linger longer in our unique Unwrapped store. Your support will see us transform an old inaccessible gravel area into an upcycled, recycled and accessible seating area. By increasing the seating area outside we aim to attract more customers to be served by more Co-workers, helping us put their new found retail skills to the test with the ultimate aim of getting paid employment for our Unwrapped Trainees in their local community.
We LOVE free help, willingly given and paid back in smiles. Over the 30 years of The Prospects Trust we have received 1000’s of hours of volunteer support, from our Trustee Board to our regular volunteers on Snakehall Farm we couldn’t grow without them. In 2020 we are looking to recruit more volunteers to help us develop our charitable enterprise.
On Monday 10th March from 2:30 to 4:00 pm we will be hosting a drop-in session for prospective volunteers at our new social enterprise, Prospects Trust Unwrapped in Ely (Lynn Road, Ely, CB7 4EG). Meet some of the team, look at the wide range of volunteering opportunities we have or just come to find out more about The Prospects Trust.
Please RSVP your interest at 01638741551, email [email protected] or tell our shop staff you are coming!
The variety of volunteering is endless and the returns boundless. To name some opportunities, we are looking for help in the following areas:
Co-worker Companions – at Snakehall Farm or within the Unwrapped Shop – providing a buddy to help with daily tasks.
Guest Blogger – we are looking for some creative types to help produce perfect copy for our newsletters, social media and website. Perhaps you like doing product reviews or telling a story in words or pictures. Join our creative volunteers to tell the story of Unwrapped
Community Fundraisers & Prospects Trust Ambassadors – with a fundraising target of £50K per year, our charity needs people who can spread the word, run a raffle or run a marathon. Help put the FUN into our Fundraising and work with our Development Manager to raise the £s this year.
Corporate Social Responsibility Giving Back Days – with 18 acres at our disposal we can offer a real difference to a business away day. Ditch the raft building team building sessions and get digging at Snakehall Farm.
Come help us Grow Differently at The Prospects Trust!
