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5 June, 2020
News Story

“I’VE LEARNT A LOT FROM THE RESIDENTS THROUGH VOLUNTEERING!”

Volunteers Week has provided the perfect opportunity to take stock of the amazing volunteers we’ve worked with over the last year, many of whom have been from corporate supporters.

We wanted to showcase the support of some of those incredible people and teams, who have helped to make a difference to the 140 people who call Caritas Anchor House home.

Clifford Chance have worked with us for a number of years now, offering one-to-one mentoring, language and literacy support which is invaluable. Monica Freely, who has been a resident mentor since 2016, said, “I had one mentee for about a year, until he moved out of Caritas Anchor House into private accommodation. I was then assigned a new mentee, who I meet with once a week – although unfortunately we cannot meet at the moment due to the coronavirus situation.

“I have learnt a lot from each mentee, from cooking tips to how to explain English idioms. It is wonderful to see their confidence grow. The better their English gets, the more interesting conversations we have and the more jokes we share! I think that when someone can convey jokes and humour in a different language they are well on the way to mastering it, so it is always lovely when there is laughter during our mentoring sessions.”

We’ve been really fortunate to work with volunteers from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who used their expertise to design and deliver a tailor-made financial capabilities course for our residents. Samuel Brustad from the FCA said, “The Caritas Anchor House staff team are extremely knowledgeable and in tune with their residents. They were able to help us isolate a project where we could apply our resources to do the most good. The residents themselves were open and engaged, helping us deliver a financial capability course that we hope will benefit many residents in the future.” We look forward to getting this back up and running soon!

A team from Direct Line Group recently helped us clear an area of our building (currently referred to as the Barn), to sort through and set up our food bank for residents. Sean Brinkley said, “We didn’t quite realise how impressed we’d be by the facilities at Caritas Anchor House. It was a real privilege to support them with their ambitious plans to create their very first food store, and helping to move items out of The Barn. It was a truly rewarding experience for us. We wouldn’t hesitate to return!”

The teams at Clifford Chance, Financial Conduct Authority, Direct Line Group and many others have got involved in various ways and have all helped to make a difference. Shout-out too to the amazing teams at Newton Europe, Linklaters LLP, Fitch Ratings, NBC Universal, Ashby Jenkins Recruitment and The Alchemist.

Whether it’s offering their personal skills, giving some practical support or professional expertise, you’ve all made an impact on both the residents and the staff at Caritas Anchor House, so thank you so much. We are lucky to have your support.

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