Teesside Hospice – Community Allotment and Bee Hives on the charity shop roof – well I never!
Teesside Hospice – Community Allotment in collaboration with Tees Valley Community Payback Probation Service, and Bee Hives on the charity shop roof – well I never, a very creative example of retail product development and embracing the local community.
The Allotment
The allotment at Teesside Hospice is run in partnership with Tees Valley Community Payback Probation Service. The allotment is located at Town Farm in Middlesbrough where fresh fruit and veg is grown to be sold in Teesside Hospice charity shops as well as the Coffee Shop located at the hospice. The fruit and veg is also transported directly to the kitchens at the hospice so patients can eat homegrown, healthy food full of nutrients! Teesside Hospice won the Proctor and Gamble Future Friendly award in 2012 for this innovative idea which has allowed the hospice to develop the allotment which is now in its third year. The allotment scheme also encourages the public to donate any excess homegrown fruit and veg to the hospice.
From left, Maureen Thompson and Tracy O’Donnell of the Teesside Hospice in the new polytunnel on their Town Farm allotment in Middlesbrough.
Teesside Beehives
One of the most unusual donations Teesside Hospice has received is 5 beehives! The beehives were donated to our Guisborough store and in true Teesside Hospice form they were utilised to raise funds for the hospice.
Teesside Hospice’s Retail Area Manager Tracey and a Teesside Hospice van driver took part in a 12-week beekeeping course and are now fully qualified beekeepers! The beehives are kept on the roof of one of the charity shops and are used to produce Teesside Hospice ‘Bee part of it, honey. The honey is sold in the charity shops and is hugely popular with customers. Teesside Hospice shop managers and volunteers are all encouraged to be part of the beekeeping process to keep producing the delicious honey!
” Bee part of it “
Collaboration with the Probation Service
The hospice has strong links with the Probation Service who actively engage in activities which give back to the community. There is a strong sense of recycling at Teesside Hospice and book logs are made by these volunteers out of books that could not be sold in the charity shops. These book logs are then sold in store to be used as fuel and kindling for fire. The recycling doesn’t stop there either – china cups and saucers are upcycled and made into quirky bird feeders and unsalable clothes are cut into rags ready to be made into rag wreaths at Teesside Hospice vintage workshops.
Teesside Hospice is a community based, diverse charity that could not continue without the hard work and support from each and every member of staff, volunteers and the public. Teesside Hospice continues to innovate and create new ways of fundraising every day- watch this space!
http://www.teessidehospice.org/