Tag: Time for Tees

Time for Tees hits the road

Staff from across the Education Training Collective Etc. have been making it a summer that counts.

Embarking on their annual Time for Tees celebration, teams across the college group have given their time to good causes.

Education Training Collective staff taking part in the Tour de Tees, joined by Middlesbrough College CEO Zoe Lewis

From cycling between all the further education colleges across the Tees Valley to repairing and upcycling donated garments for Daisy Chain, Etc. chief executive and group principal, Grant Glendinning, said: “It’s fantastic to see colleagues embracing the challenge.”

He himself spent the day carrying out maintenance work at Fox Rush Farm Community Woodland.

In a packed schedule, college staff litter picked in Billingham and the Tees Barrage, lent a hand at Middlesbrough Rugby Club and The Chris Cave Foundation in Redcar, and organised a sponsored dog walk at Errington Wood in New Marske.

Etc. chief executive and group principal, Grant Glendinning, at Fox Rush Farm Community Woodland.
Etc. staff litter picking at the Tees Barrage.

Gardening was hot on the agenda with green fingered volunteers mucking in at St Cuthbert’s Church in Billingham and Anchor’s Millbeck care home in Norton, while others created wellbeing gardens at Stockton Riverside College and Bede Sixth Form.

Grant said: “It is testament to the charity organisations and good causes across the area that allows us to get involved in such a fun and varied mix of activities.”

New to the agenda this year was a near 60-mile sponsored bike ride, titled the “Tour de Tees”.

Staff members cycled from Darlington College to Stockton Riverside College, before heading on to Hartlepool College of Further Education, Middlesbrough College, and finally crossing the finish line at Redcar and Cleveland College.

The Education Training Collective incorporates Bede Sixth Form College, Innersummit, NETA Training, Redcar and Cleveland College and Stockton Riverside College.

Opening the invite to further education colleagues outside the group, the Tour de Tees volunteers included Middlesbrough College chief executive, Zoe Lewis. And a further team from the college tackled the same route the next day.  All raised money for charities of their choice.

Stockton Riverside College beauty lecturers Laura and Hayley tackling the Tour de Tees.

Stockton Riverside College beauty lecturers Hayley Hobbs and Laura Allison took part on behalf of the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

Hayley said: “My friend was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease a couple of years ago and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to raise funds and awareness of this disease.

“The MND Association has been a huge source of support, providing monthly support groups connecting those living with the condition. They also provide grants to help with essential equipment.

“The Tour de Tees was challenging but I just kept reminding myself why I was doing it and the money we had raised.”

Also on the team, Etc. business development co-ordinator, Jake Rigby said: “I signed up to this one because I am into my biking and this was an excuse to spend the full day riding.”

Having previously served in the RAF, he chose to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund, supporting current and former personnel and their families.

Jake said: “It was a really good day. You got to meet people from different roles that you wouldn’t necessarily speak to day-to-day, it was a day away from the office to socialise and decompress, and a way to give back.”

Etc. staff volunteering at St Cuthbert's Church.
Etc. staff litter picking in Low Grange, Billingham.

Etc. business development co-ordinator, Joanne Wallace, was among those working in the gardens at St Cuthbert’s Church. She said: “It was a very nice day but a very hot day. We helped out with gardening and clearing overgrown ivy from the gravestones.

“It all felt a bit nostalgic as it is the church where I got married and the kids got christened, so it was lovely to be able to go and give something back.”

Etc. staff were stitching and mending at Daisy Chain's Mend It Don’t Rag It and Neuthread programmes.
Etc. staff revamped the outdoor space at Millbeck care home in Norton.

Group marketing manager Sarah Spowart spent the day stitching and mending at the Daisy Chain warehouse in Portrack, as part of their Mend It Don’t Rag It and Neuthread programmes.

“It was amazing to learn about these incredible projects where they repair donated garments or upcycle unsellable items into new pieces,” she said. “We also got to meet and chat to some of the other volunteers who regularly give their time.”

Etc. staff at Middlesbrough Rugby Club.
Etc. staff at The Chris Cave Foundation in Redcar.

Making Time for Tees!

From filling and dishing out hay bags to litter picking and even repainting the stage at Stockton Globe, college staff have been out in the community making Time for Tees.

The annual event, launched by the Education Training Collective (Etc.), urges staff to take time out from the day job to give practical help to good causes.

“This is our way of hopefully making a real hands-on difference in our local communities, by taking a day to help out in whatever way we can, and do something completely different to the day job,” said Etc. chief executive and group principal Grant Glendinning. 

This summer, for Etc. staff that included cleaning up after and caring for the horses at the RDA Unicorn Centre in Hemlington, gardening and maintenance work at True Lovers Walk in Yarm, cutting back branches at Kirkleatham Woods, scrubbing the fencing at Stockton Rugby Club, and a whole host of maintenance jobs at The Chris Cave Foundation Cavey’s Cabin.

Volunteers helped sort donations at the Daisy Chain Charity Megastore and Billingham and Stockton Borough Foodbank, and litter pickers were out in force at Seaton Carew, the Tees Barrage and in Low Grange, Billingham.

Not afraid to muck in, the college group saw a team helping at Daisy Chain in Norton, volunteers marshalled at the Albert Park Run, a fundraising dog walk brought in donations for Maxi’s Mates, while others painted the stage at Stockton Globe.

The Etc. incorporates Bede Sixth Form College, Innersummit, NETA Training, Redcar and Cleveland College and Stockton Riverside College.

More than 200 staff gave their time to around 18 projects across the Tees Valley.

Among them, seven volunteers rolled up their sleeves for The Chris Cave Foundation, a charity set up to deter young people from carrying a knife or gun, raising awareness of the dangers to help prevent street violence.

The Etc. staff repainted the cabin, pulled up weeds, laid bags of bark, and helped with odd jobs around Cavey’s Cabin, a community space in Locke Park, Redcar, where families can take part in a host of organised activities together to support their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

Theresa Cave, founder and chief executive of The Chris Cave Foundation, said: “As always, the Etc. team did such a fantastic job at Cavey’s Cabin. It was overgrown with weeds and had graffiti on the walls and the team worked so hard painting, weeding and laying the new bark, it looks beautiful. I am so grateful to the team who gave up a lovely sunny day to help us.”

Two further teams spent the day at the Unicorn Centre, a member group of the Riding for the Disabled Association, where they mucked in with the care of the horses, both cleaning up and serving up hay bags for lunch.

Etc. business development officer, Samantha Colman, who is also a trustee at the Unicorn Centre said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Education Training Collective for their recent support. Their volunteers have made a real difference, helping us continue to provide life-changing experiences for our riders and their families.

“As a small charity relying on donations and volunteer help, this kind of kindness is vital. We truly couldn’t do what we do without it.”

Meanwhile staff lent a helping hand to Friends of True Lovers Walk in Yarm, preparing and staining benches, clearing debris and overgrown areas of Yarm Wharf and the riverside pathway.

Friends of True Lovers Walk’s Melanie Farman said: “We were delighted to welcome two teams of staff from Etc. as part of the Time for Tees initiative. The volunteers worked extremely hard and were very enthusiastic on both days, day two being particularly challenging as temperatures peaked at around 30 degrees.

“Having community volunteers come and work with us means we can carry out a significant amount of work that might normally take us a few days. The teams really gave us 100%. A huge thank you to all, we appreciated you and your time.”