A railway station in Staffordshire has been made a little brighter this week thanks to team work between community-minded volunteers and adults with additional support needs.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week (May 10-16), a group of hard-working volunteers headed down to Tamworth station to install a beautiful planter outside the main entrance.
The planter was specially made for the space by students from Care First, which provides learning opportunities for people with learning difficulties, disabilities or additional support needs.
Vicky Cropper-Clarke, head of stakeholder and community for London Northwestern Railway (LNR), which operates Tamworth station, said:
“The community is at the heart of everything we do and it was wonderful to welcome our fantastic volunteers to the station this week.
“With more people beginning to travel on the railway again we are keen to make our stations as welcoming as possible and community activity like this is a great example for everybody.”
Lee Bates, from Community Together CIC, which organised the volunteers, said:
“This was a wonderful way to begin working with LNR’s station adoption scheme and to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week at the same time.
“All our volunteers are looking forward to supporting more projects which help the station, whether through planting, artwork or raising awareness of important issues.
“Tamworth station is not only an important gateway to the town but somewhere people can take pride in and use to improve their mental wellbeing through community engagement.”
Stacey Bean, from Care First, said:
“After a year of not being able to access our local community as often as we would have liked, it is fantastic to be part of this amazing group project.
“Our students have loved producing the planter to be displayed for all the community to enjoy and are looking forward to seeing their creation whenever they visit the station from now on.”
To find out more about getting involved at your local railway station, visit www.lnr.uk/communityrail
Featured photo: Station assistant Luke Stanyard, back left, and duty station manager Max Rumsey-Kane, back right, with volunteers at Tamworth station
