KIND-HEARTED employees at a Park Farm business rolled up their sleeves and put their green fingers to work at the Alexandra Hospital on Friday (October 23) as part of the company’s ‘Month of Service’.
Staff from Alcoa Fastening Systems and Rings (AFSR) volunteered their spare time to renovating the garden area of the Alex’s Garden Suite Ward – where patients suffering from cancer receive chemotherapy treatment and dialysis.
The kindly 18-strong Alcoa team assisted the hospital’s gardener in tidying up the garden, planting, providing seating areas and painting the old benches.
Veronica Rowlands, Sister on the Garden Suite, expressed her gratitude for the help of the Alcoa employees, who were from different sections of the Crossgate Road factory, and was sure the overhaul would make a real difference to the suite’s patients.
She added: “Our patients and their relatives have to sit in the Garden Suite for several hours at a time while receiving their chemotherapy treatment.
“We hope that the refreshment of the garden area will enhance the experience of our patients and give them somewhere pleasant to go and get some fresh air if needed.”
Every October, Alcoa employees dedicate their free time to local charities within their business area to help make a difference in their community.
Additionally the Alex’s charity, ‘League of Friends’, will receive a $10,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation which was founded 62 years ago and has contributed more than $22 million to nonprofit organisations throughout the world.
The grant will be used by the charity to help further improve the hospital for patients and visitors.
Todd Emerick, plant manager at AFSR Redditch operations, added: “As a local business, we are happy to help wherever we can – our employees volunteer by giving up their free time to do something creative and helpful for the community, and we are very grateful and proud of that.”