Getting stuck in at a wellbeing event

Having been at Foot Anstey for the last 6 years, I realised that I haven’t once utilised our CSR Day programme which seems a waste! I decided to help at a wellbeing event organised by Platfform, a mental health and social change charity, that aimed to support people get into work by supplying them with work clothes.

Who are Platfform?

Platfform are a mental health and social change charity based in the South Wales valleys. They pride themselves on working with people who are experiencing challenges with their mental health, and with communities who want to create a greater sense of connection, ownership and wellbeing in the places that they live

How did you get involved?

Platfform regularly engage in social events with the local community and their service users. My wife works for the charity and I have attended a number of these events with her in the past if they fell on a weekend. However, when my wife mentioned that they were short of volunteers for their latest event, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to utilise a CSR Day to help.

The event was held at a community garden in Bargoed, and there was a Working Wardrobe where work/office wear clothing donations were shared with those in need for interviews and to use in roles once they were offered. My role was to help set up the event before I was set to task manning the ‘tearoom’ and providing tea, coffee, homemade soup and cupcakes to all that attended. The refreshments were free of charge to those that attended meaning the tearoom was very busy and, despite it being 14 years since I was last in a role involving serving drinks, it luckily all came back to me (although I couldn’t stretch to fancy latte art!).

Will you use your CSR Days again?

I will definitely be using my CSR days regularly moving forward. I spoke with many of the Platfform team during the event – they were very complimentary that Foot Anstey has a CSR Day programme as they can find it challenging to find volunteers for activities they run during the working week.

Platfform is an organisation that I would like to dedicate more of my time to – and not just because my wife works for them! As a Mental Health First Aider, working with a mental health charity seems a perfect way for me to use my CSR Days. I felt a great deal of satisfaction from being able to support such a worthwhile event.