Big-hearted gesture from charity

Martha with the Valentine's boxes ‘SERVICE-USERS HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTE SUPERSTARS’

BIG-HEARTED GESTURE FROM LOCAL CHARITY

More than 100 Valentine’s Day boxes were gifted to adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions in Northamptonshire.

Local charity, Teamwork Trust – which supports autistic adults and those with additional needs and disabilities in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough – was unable to host its popular Valentine’s Ball this year, so instead delivered luxury gift boxes to its service-users.

Martha McKeown, who has worked at Teamwork Trust as a volunteer and apprentice for two years, said it was a way to recognise service-users for how well they have coped during Covid-19 with the charity’s remote ‘Living & Learning’ programme.

“Everything we do at Teamwork is about our service-users and giving them opportunities and experiences,” said Martha, who led the project along with the charity’s two other apprentices, Manav and Macy.

The trio spent weeks planning and sourcing petals, balloons, gift items and themed activities. They then enlisted help from Teamwork Trust staff and volunteers to pack everything into ribbon-tied boxes and deliver them to service-users’ doorsteps countywide.

Martha added: “Our Valentine’s Ball is one of the highlights of the year so when we realised that wasn’t going to be possible, we made every effort to come up with an alternative. Service-users have been absolute superstars with the way they’ve adapted over the pandemic, so it was our way of saying ‘well done’.”

Visit: www.teamworktrust.co.uk