eden PR has begun working closely with The Friary Drop-In Centre, a local Nottingham charity located in West Bridgford, with a series of volunteering days as well as financial support and donations.

Having been established in 1988, The Friary does incredible work towards ensuring that people struggling within Nottingham are given a chance to get a hot meal, shower and clean clothes, from Monday to Friday.

Hundreds of individuals are helped on a weekly basis at the charity’s Drop-In Centre, which has seen a huge increase in visitors since the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost-of-living crisis which has impacted so many across the UK, has also led to a jump in people who have been unable to put food on the table, with lots of people using the service from across the city of Nottingham as a result.

The charity’s service opens its doors each weekday morning, until lunchtime, with service users who may be rough sleepers requiring a helping hand, able to request food parcels, sleeping bags and toiletries they may be running low on.

Earlier this summer, statistics showed that the number of rough sleepers in Nottingham was at its highest June total in over a decade.

The Friary have a mixture of paid staff and volunteers, that allow them to operate the much-needed service. The charity are always looking out for more volunteers, as without that vital workforce, they are unable to run the service.

Ben Talbot, CEO of The Friary Drop-In Centre, said: “The importance of corporate volunteering that firms like Eden provide us with are critical to us being able to offer the services we do for our service users.

“It was great to work with both Polly and Conor, the gardening work in particular was helpful for so many reasons and ultimately something that would not have happened without their attendance.

“We look forward to meeting the rest of the Eden team over the course of this year.”

Eden is providing The Friary with extra workforce, with several staff volunteering days, following a request from staff as part of its regular mental health & wellbeing check-ins.

Several team members had suggested a Charity Day to do work for a local Nottingham charity, which provided the team with the opportunity to work together and give something back.

Eden introduced the new Charity Day Initiative for each member of the team – with the team deciding upon The Friary as its charity for 2024.

For the first Charity Day of 2024, Account Manager, Conor Davies, and Senior Account Executive, Polly Donaldson, visited The Friary’s Drop-In Centre on Musters Road, West Bridgford.

Conor picks up on their experience: “The Friary is a fantastic charity, making a real local difference to those who utilise its services, day in, day out. The work staff and volunteers put in, to ensure that there are food, drink, toiletries and clothing for service users to make use of, is outstanding.

“I’m grateful to both the Eden directors and team for choosing such a worthy cause as The Friary to support this year.

“Myself and Polly spent the morning in the store room and kitchen respectively. I worked closely with Charlotte, who ensured that each request was met with the correct food and clothing parcel.

“It was eye-opening to see the military-precision process, she and the team worked to, but with the vast number of users that rely upon the service, it was obvious why this was the case. Polly was in the kitchen on tea and coffee duty, giving her the opportunity to meet many of the regular visitors and get stuck into providing hot drinks and breakfast items.

Polly continues: “As well as our work in the morning, we spent the afternoon gardening across The Friary’s sites, which was very different to a normal Wednesday afternoon for us! It helped the team in areas where they simply would not have time to dedicate towards.

“I think a corporate charity day is a fantastic idea and I’m really pleased that the senior Eden team have created this opportunity for us all to give a little back.

“As we all know, the charity sector faces a number of challenges which is why I’m particularly proud we have chosen a local charity as we can see first-hand the immense rise in homelessness throughout Nottingham and struggles within our local community.

“I found the experience really rewarding. We are very fortunate to have the privilege and opportunity to volunteer some time to such a worthy cause and I look forward to hearing what the rest of our team get up to.”

Eden provides support as well as pro-bono work for several community initiatives.

For more information on The Friary Drop-In Centre and how you can help, visit: https://the-friary.org.uk/.