Staff volunteer day proves a real community effort
GIVING BACK
Tour de Tees – an approximate 60-mile bicycle ride taking in all the Tees Valley’ s further education colleges was part of the annual Etc. volunteering campaign.
IT’ S TIME
FOR TEES
Staff volunteer day proves a real community effort
Come the summer months and for one day only, the working day looks rather different for staff across the Education Training Collective( Etc.).
Laptops are closed and calls put on hold as colleagues are encouraged to give Time for Tees.
It is a group-wide initiative that sees teams taking part in a variety of voluntary activities and events, all for the good of the community.
Etc.’ s chief executive and group principal Grant Glendinning said:“ It’ s all about taking time away from the day job and doing something completely different that benefits others.
Community – volunteers from Etc. refreshing the outdoor space at Anchor’ s Millbeck care home in Norton.
50 | Tees Business
“ It is also a chance for staff at the college group to meet and volunteer alongside colleagues who they might not otherwise get to spend time with.”
It’ s all feel-good stuff that promotes teamwork and positive wellbeing in the workplace and the local organisations feel the value too.
Whether it’ s a garden renovation, stitching and mending or helping with site maintenance, there’ s plenty of ways the Etc. team can offer a helping hand.
Keen to create a bit of a movement, this year it certainly seems to have kicked up a gear with the launch of the Tour de Tees, an approximate 60-mile bicycle ride taking in all the Tees Valley’ s further education colleges.
Leading the charge, quite literally, was Etc. chief operating officer Phil Hastie who was joined in the bike ride by Middlesbrough College chief executive Zoe Lewis.
But there was no space even for healthy competition here as cycling from Darlington College to Stockton Riverside College, on to Hartlepool College of Further Education, Middlesbrough College and finishing the day at Redcar and Cleveland College, required a real team effort.
Phil said:“ It was great to open the invitation up to our neighbouring further education providers across the Tees Valley.“ All those taking part chose their own individual charity or good cause that they wanted to raise funds for.”
Phil and Zoe were accompanied by Etc. team members comprising staff from Stockton Riverside College and Bede Sixth Form College, while a team from Middlesbrough College did it all again the next day.
It offered the chance to put their fitness to the test, meet new colleagues and spend the day in the sunshine, with just a smattering of rain towards the finish line.
Meanwhile colleagues from across the Etc. were enjoying their own day in the sun on litter picks at the Tees Barrage and Low Grange, Billingham, while green-fingered volunteers lent a hand at St Cuthbert’ s Church, The Chris Cave Foundation and Fox Rush Farm Community Woodland.
Others created outdoor wellbeing spaces at Stockton Riverside College and Bede Sixth Form, maintenance work was on the agenda at Middlesbrough Rugby Club and those with nimble fingers stitched at Daisy Chain’ s Mend It, Don’ t Rag It and Neuthread, repairing and upcycling clothing and textiles to revamp or extend the life of the donated garments.
The Time for Tees dog walk, raising funds for dog rescue Maxi’ s Mates, is proving a staff favourite and this year the team chose Errington Wood above New Marske to take advantage of the muchneeded shade.
Once again demonstrating it’ s a true