News

Community Volunteer Project Launched

(27 April 2004)

Caring students from the University of Durham, Queen’s Campus, Stockton will be relaying patios and trimming trees this week for the benefit of residents at the neighbouring Kirkdale Nursing Home.

Organised by Andy Laidler, newly appointed Student Community Action Co-ordinator, the student volunteers are giving up their time to work alongside Teesside Wildlife Trust to ensure that residents and their families can enjoy the Kirkdale gardens this summer.

Andy Laidler said:” This is the first in a series of volunteer projects we have set up to build on the excellent relationship between the Queen’s Campus and the wider Stockton community to encourage more student volunteering. Since the Campus first opened, students have been involved with the nursing home so it was a natural choice for us to extend this partnership”. The University’s SCA is one of the biggest Student Community Action groups in the country, currently involving over 500 student volunteers in well over 40 projects across the region. It supports and runs an ever increasing number of projects giving a huge range of different volunteering opportunities to its member from gardening and conservation work to homework clubs for local schools and sports coaching.

Gayle Tweed, General Manager, Kirkdale Nursing Home said:”Without support from Student Community Action or Teesside Wildlife Trust, charities such as ours would not exist. I was thrilled to hear about this scheme and delighted when Kirkdale was chosen”.

Media Opportunity – Wednesday 28 April 2-4 p.m. Kirkdale Nursing Home, Radcliffe Crescent, Thornaby

Andy Laidler and students will be available for photographs and interviews.
For further information about this release contact: Jan Cawood, Public Relations Officer, tel: 0191-334-0018 or Andy Laidler, Student Community Action, Queen’s Campus Tel: 0191 3340139