A Day at Ace of Clubs
On Saturday 6 September Michael Brierley, Sehaj Lamba and I attended Ace of Clubs, our partner charity of the year, to offer some hands-on assistance.
On arrival we were assigned to re-organise the dried/tinned food storage room. There were many crates that contained various items and many of them were jumbled up and no order. Our objective for the morning was to re-organise the food so that the chefs using the ingredients could easily find the right item. While doing this we were able to identify items that the centre had in abundance and the items that they desperately need more of. This actually coincides with one of the Charity Committee objectives which is to collect items needed by Ace and will enable us to target our efforts.
As well as the store room we also assisted in organising clothes that the centre had received by donations and serving lunch to the service users who were or have been homeless. Lunch had been prepared by Lee, a carpenter by trade who volunteers at the centre on most days.
Also volunteering along with us were 6 young people from the Challenge Network, an organisation that Hanne & Co. has worked with in the past. It was great seeing young people getting involved with their community and having the opportunity to speak directly to some of the service users. A few of them had teary eyes when a particular gentleman, who had left a lasting impression on us, said goodbye for the day.
When all the work was done we had the pleasure of being shown the centre’s garden by Willem, a former service user who now volunteers at the centre looking after and growing herb and vegetables. It was fulfilling to see the extent to which a service user has benefited from Ace of Clubs’ support and even more so because for Michael and I, who had seen the garden 6 months earlier, to see how far the garden had come along. We could tell that Willem was immensely proud of his work.
Other than identifying items that the centre needs, another one of the Charity Committee’s objectives is to get our staff members directly involved with Ace. Although we were only at the centre for a few hours, we were all grateful to have had first-hand experience offering our time and assistance and to have witnessed how Ace helps one of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups of people in our community.
For a brief description of Ace of Clubs and what they do to provide support for the homeless, please click on the link below:
http://www.hanne.co.uk/hanne-co-supports-ace-of-clubs/
Isadora, Trainee Solicitor, Hanne & Co.
