Kidsunlimited's volunteers revamp charity's gardens

Thirty members of kidsunlimited staff spent two days rejuvenating the refuge gardens as part of the chain’s Happy Seedlings project, in partnership with domestic violence charity Manchester Women’s Aid.

The staff developed plans for the gardens over two months, with the aim of making them more child-friendly and welcoming for the women and children who live in the refuges. As well as planting flowers, the volunteers built rockeries, a mini-construction site and a wigwam for the children to enjoy.

Children, parents and staff raised funds for the gardens with cake sales, face painting and sponsored walks. The amount raised was then matched by both kidsunlimited and Bright Horizons, which manages the chain.

Around £1,900 was raised overall, as well as donations of equipment from parents and local businesses.

The Happy Seedlings project was set up to celebrate kidsunlimited’s 30^th birthday this year. The chain is the fifth largest childcare provider in the UK and offers nearly 6,000 places in 63 nurseries.

Jeremy Clark, development director at kidsunlimited, said, ‘I’m really impressed at how all of our staff, children and parents have fully supported this project. It’s been an inspiring experience and I hope the gardens will be enjoyed for years to come.’

Lynne Warner, finance manager at Manchester Women’s Aid, said, ‘The refuge gardens were very uninspiring before kidsunlimited came along [see photo on the right]. The women and children are overwhelmed by the hard work, commitment and passion that has been put into the gardens and they now have a place they can go to play safely and be happy in.’

Women’s Aid provides around 250,000 women and children a year with temporary emergency housing. Manchester Women’s Aid has five refuges catering for up to 31 families at a time.