On Wednesday 14^th September three members of the CVMinder took part in some volunteering at Pepenbury.

The day was organised by their volunteer co-coordinator, Sue Lawrence and our volunteers spent the day with Tim, their gardener. Maintaining the shrubberies and borders meant a lot of digging and weeding, but everyone really enjoyed helping out.

What does Pepenbury do?

Pepenbury is based in Pembury, just outside Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It provides care and support services to adults with learning disabilities. The charity and has been running for over 80 years and it currently provides support to over 250 people throughout West Kent.

Pepenbury services include residential care, day services and supported living. Their main site at Pembury is located in a quiet village and is home to a number of animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens and donkeys. The charity also provides training opportunities through a City & Guild qualifications. These include Small Animal care, Horticultural, IT and retail skills that help service users enter volunteering positions and employment.

Karl Pay, Head of Operations, has been with the charity for three years. He explained how Pepenbury is dedicated to developing the skills required for independent living. Every service user has a personalised support plan that reflects their individual preferences and choices.

Pepenbury promotes an active lifestyle so it offers numerous activities, ranging from pottery to music lessons and cycling to bowling.

Karl confirmed that volunteering is extremely important to Pepenbury. Their hard work reduces the pressure on the groundsman so that projects can be completed faster. With 100 acres to maintain, there is always plenty to do and the cost of running the service is almost £17,000 per day.

There are many ways for companies to volunteer with Pepenbury. Projects range from gardening to building in their woodland setting and they are always grateful for your time. They do fantastic work at Pepenbury, so we would highly recommend chatting to Karl about volunteering opportunities.