Volunteering team awarded

25 June 2009

LJMU's volunteering team has received an award from Business in the Community (BITC) for its work with Kensington Fields Community Centre.

The award for 'Merseyside Community Impact Team of the Year 2009’ acknowledged the commitment the team made to the project and the skills developed while making an impact in the community.

Volunteering co-ordinators Melissa Gage and Lucy McGrath worked alongside BITC’s Cares programme to help source a worthy community centre. Kensington Fields Community Centre offers services to a broad spectrum of local residents to provide activities, support and education. Once Melissa and Lucy had sourced the community centre, they recruited a group of students eager to help them improve it. With hard work and dedication the team were able to lay down a laminate floor in the children’s activity room, which had been without a floor for sometime due to flooding. Students also brightened up the entrance, painting the doors, halls and walls. Two art and design students also created a Liverpool cityscape on canvas which was donated to the centre, much to the local residents' delight.

Melissa and Lucy commented: "LJMU’s Volunteering department is delighted with the recognition of the award and we would like to thank all of the student volunteers who got involved, this project would not have been such a success without them."

Pictured are Melissa Gage, Lucy McGrath and Raksha Pattni, Regional Director of Business in the Community.