Teams from the Financial Crime, Change and Compliance departments in Solihull were the latest from across the Secure Trust Bank Group to take advantage of the STBG Volunteers programme. The scheme is open to all employees across the organisation with the business funding one day of volunteering at an organisation of the team's choice, allowing colleagues to give back to local communities across the UK. Last year nearly a thousand hours were donated by colleagues to good causes to help improve their local communities. Previously work has been undertaken in soup kitchens, schools, hospices, careers education, and dog shelters to name a few.
This year the Change team showed that they really do know how to bring about change by using their decorating and gardening skills to transform areas of Solihull Mind's 3.5 acre site in Knowle. The site is used by the charity to offer social and leisure services and support to people and organisations in the surrounding area as part of their work on improving mental wellbeing.
When asked how the time had benefited Solihull Mind, Horticulture Coordinator, Andy Jennings, stated "The guys from Secure Trust Bank did a stellar job. Once they started they wouldn't stop! They have made the garden look beautiful."
Our Solihull based Compliance team also made a huge difference when they visited Oak Cottage Primary School. The school has a an eco-garden to encourage children to think about nature and get involved in small projects to help encourage wildlife, but over time it had become so overgrown that it could no longer be used. Nine members of the Compliance team were joined by the CEO's PA to take on the challenge of clearing the area and laying turf, in spite of the rain which didn't stop until way after lunch. It was a wet and soggy day, but our colleagues were undeterred and got the job done.
Members of the Financial Crime team spent a separate day at the school, laying paths, painting benches and putting the finishing touches to make the garden look beautiful. The children were delighted with their new look area and wrote letters of thanks to the teams saying how excited they were to be able to use the garden again and how they were looking forward to seeing the local wildlife return.