Charity and law firm join forces to transform garden for learning disabled adults

STAFF from UK law firm, Burges Salmon, gave up their time to help learning disability charity Hft last week to transform the garden of one of the charity’s residential services for learning disabled adults.

On Tuesday, 10 employees from Burges Salmon’s BEnabled group, its disability and long-term health conditions network, visited the residential service in Bristol to support with the transformation of the garden and get to know the people supported by Hft.

The team, along with Hft staff members, helped with weeding the garden, cleared paths to improve accessibility to the outdoor space, and planted flowers and shrubs to make the space brighter and more colourful.

One of the residents at the service said:

“I had the best day ever and loved doing the gardening – I think I’ve found a new hobby!”

The volunteering day initially came about following a conversation between Hft’s Community Fundraising Officer, Lauren Fields, and the law firm.

Lauren explained:

“I initially reached out to Burges Salmon and we discussed the importance of creating more hospitable places for learning disabled people. This was something that really resonated with them so they wanted an opportunity to get fully involved with the work Hft does.”

Amy, one of the volunteers from Burges Salmon added:

“It was really important to the BEnabled group that we spent our volunteering time supporting an organisation whose interests are close to our hearts, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Hft’s residential service in the heart of our Bristol community.

“We had a great day and loved meeting the staff and residents, and we all came away with massive smiles on our faces! I hope we’ll be able to work with Hft again in the future to support the brilliant work they do across Bristol and beyond.”

The charity hopes to get other organisations involved in voluntary opportunities across its services in England and Wales, to deepen connections within the community and raise awareness of the work it does to support learning disabled adults to live the best life possible.

Lauren concluded:

“I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Burges Salmon and the volunteers who came out last week. It was a huge success and the people we support in Bristol will really benefit from the work we managed to do in their garden.

“I hope this is the first of many days like this!”

If you would like to get involved with the work Hft does, please visit its website.