08 August 2016
Portakabin Volunteers Help Flood-hit Pre-school
Several months on from York's devastating floods, the playground at Huntington Pre-school was still out of use, having been irreparably damaged and contaminated by heavily polluted flood waters. A team of volunteers from the Portakabin Group then stepped in to rebuild and transform the children's facilities.
Fifteen staff from across the business offered to help and were supported with the donation of plants, trees, equipment and building materials from a number of local companies.
Portakabin also supplied a range of recycled materials to create a series of raised timber planters and a stage; a water play area made from off-cuts of plastic guttering, and mud kitchens from recycled sinks.
Commenting on the project, Lynne Britton, Chair at Huntington Pre-school, said, "We were unable to use the play area after the flooding completely ruined and contaminated the ground. Then a local parent who is also an employee at Portakabin, visited us and said they may be able to help. The Portakabin team was absolutely amazing and even encouraged the children to share their ideas for what they wanted. The youngsters specifically requested a mud kitchen and somewhere they could play with their toy cars so the team came up with the brilliant idea of fixing piping offcuts around the fencing to use as a race track!"
"The Portakabin volunteers co-ordinated everything and even enlisted the support of other local companies to make the project possible. The children are absolutely thrilled with their new play area and we are hugely grateful for everyone's help and input. This has been a fantastic contribution and collaboration from Portakabin and the local business community."
Derek Carter, Chief Executive of the Portakabin Group, said, "We have all been really impressed with the dedication and resourcefulness of this group of volunteers and how other local businesses stepped in to help us transform the outside space for these children. We have continued to expand our community initiatives and now have volunteers from across the Portakabin Group working on many innovative projects and demonstrating their ability to make a real difference to people's lives through volunteering and fundraising activities."
Local companies and volunteers who helped Portakabin with the Huntington Pre-school project included:
- Arco - Children's high visibility vests
- Atkinsons - Top soil
- Buck & Hickman - Paint and brushes
- B&Q - Plants
- Castle Howard - Willow trees
- Dalby Nurseries - Plants
- Dean's Garden Centre - Plants
- Elvington Plant Hire - Digger hire
- Fairways Garden Services - Turf lifter for two days
- Jewson - Gravel
- John Wright Electrical & Mechanical Services Ltd - Generator hire
- HSS Hire - Equipment hire
- MKM Building Supplies - Hard core
- Orchard Nurseries - Lavender and strawberry plants
- Parker Developments - Hard core
- Wyevale Garden Centre - Plants
- Mac Michell - Retired landscape gardener
- Barry Bottomley - Allotment holder
- Rob Varsey - Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Following the success of the Huntington Pre-school project, another team of Portakabin volunteers is helping to repair flooded play facilities at Orchard Park Pre-school in York.
During the flood clean-up Portakabin donated a modular building to help distribute food to volunteers, contractors and families affected by the flooding. Its parent company, the Shepherd Group, also donated £15,000 to the York Flood Appeal.
Editor's Notes
1. Portakabin and Portakabin Group are registered trademarks. Portakabin must only be used to refer to modular buildings that are known to have been manufactured by the Portakabin Group. Please note, Portakabin is not a generic term.
2. The Portakabin Group is part of the Shepherd Group.
