The sun was truly shining down on Direct Line this October as a team cam down to the farm on a CSR day – which we offer to our key corporate supporters to help staff really engage with the charity that their business is supporting.
Obviously the last 18 months have been a tough period for everyone, but charities, and the people they support, have been hit particularly hard as we have had to adapt to the challenges that the pandemic has brought. Although due to obvious Covid-19 restrictions Leeds Children’s Charity at Lineham Farm was not able to continue to support residential breaks for children over this period (though we did run some socially distanced days for some specific groups), we took the opportunity to use this “downtime” on the farm to crack on with a ride range of upgrades to the site which will enhance the experience of future groups.
Upgrades on site included the stripping out and upgrading of all the bathrooms; new indoor furniture; extended patio with new seating; new sensory and gardening area; sensory caravan walkway extended; new wetland viewing area; new bridge; new learning outside the classroom, classroom space; new outside performance area with seating; and increased storage.
Obviously with the new structures we have built we have looked to blend these in with the natural surroundings of the beautiful farm, so the vast majority of work has involved timber structures. With winter fast approaching it was clear we needed to treat and protect all of our new (and existing) wood structures around Lineham Farm from the harsh elements of the winter season. Direct Line Group kindly sent a team of staff members on a CSR day to help us prepare for the cold snap. The day was a win/win for all parties, with the staff having a fantastic day in beautiful surroundings and glorious weather, not only engaging with the charity that their company support, but also bonding more closely as a team.
We would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank Direct Line for their continued support, and the team who came, for their efforts which will undoubtedly help use to maintain our facilities so more and more disadvantaged children of Leeds can have a wonderful time during their stay at Lineham Farm.
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