Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP), has welcomed volunteering support from as far as Utah, USA, to their Community Garden in Newton Aycliffe.
Trustee and lead community volunteer, David Cockburn, met two visiting missionaries at Junction 7 in Newton Aycliffe, and introduced them to the thriving Community Garden at the PCP.
David said: “The support from the missionaries on site at the Pioneering Care Centre has been truly amazing.
“They have offered to take on heavier and more intense tasks such as digging, building work and cutting down trees, which has been hugely appreciated amongst our team of dedicated volunteers and staff.”
The two visiting missionaries from Utah – elder Andrew Martin and Elder Tomas Flores – lent a helping hand to PCP’s Community Garden for six weeks, and during this time were able to put floor down in the greenhouse and new garden storage area, which has proven to be valuable asset.
Further missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ And Latter-Day Saints from locations closer to the site have visited the Community Garden and additional sites in the North-East to complete ten hours of voluntary work a week.
PCP chief executive Carol Gaskarth said: “Without the support of volunteers, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve half of the fantastic things PCP has worked for over the last 20 years.
“Through the missionaries support at the Community Garden, they are truly living our values of Health, Wellbeing and Learning for all.”
The Community Garden at the Pioneering Care Centre is not only used by the local community, but Together 21, a group for families with children with Down syndrome, and Options, a group for adults with learning and physical disabilities.
Throughout the garden there are many plants that require regular maintenance to be used in sensory educational activities.
