Hodgson Sealants has provided extra support to a youth centre at the heart of our community in Beverley this month through the delivery of a much-needed shed.
As proud supporters of the Cherry Tree Youth Hub, we were devastated to find out their outside area had been vandalised over the Easter break, destroying play equipment and valuable garden space.
Feeling they deserved far more than sympathy, our HOPE charity committee sprang into action with an offer of support. While the damage had been quickly cleared up and repaired, our Technical Manager Sam Hodgson was determined to provide something beyond our annual donation.
He got in touch with centre manager Jo Ramsay to ask what would help most. The answer: a shed.
The Beverley team visit Cherry Tree Youth Hub (L-R): Gordon Brown, Sam Hodgson, Jo Ramsay
The Hub’s sports equipment was being stored in an office never designed for the job, and a proper storage space would free that room up for the young people who need it.
So earlier this month, Sam and Gordon Brown from our warehouse team delivered the shed to the site – and stayed on for a full tour of the facilities with Jo and Tony Henderson, the Hub’s Development Manager, seeing first-hand the space that up to 60 children rely on every weeknight.
“We are honoured to be working with a group of people who are really making a positive difference to the lives of young people in Beverley who really need their support,” said Sam.
“It was great to help out, and very inspiring to learn more about what Cherry Tree are doing to help their local community during our visit.”
Taking the tour (L-R): Tony Henderson, Sam Hodgson, Gordon Brown
HOPE is Hodgson Sealants’ employee-led charity committee, supporting good causes across Hull and East Yorkshire throughout the year.
Cherry Tree Youth Hub is just one of the local organisations we have supported since it was built by volunteers from scratch last year – a process that was captured by BBC’s DIY SOS.
The vandalism in April saw CCTV capture children jumping on donated equipment, destroying a vegetable patch that fed 150 local families a week through a food pantry, and trying to climb the roof.
Cherry Tree Youth Hub’s centre manager Jo added: “I got the call from Sam out of the blue asking if we needed support after the vandalism. The local community had really pulled together, but Sam asked if we needed anything else. I said we were struggling without a shed for our outdoor equipment, which the young people love to use over summer for cricket, football, rounders and badminton.
“I never thought Hodgson Sealants would fund it, but Sam called back within an hour to say they’d pay for it and have it delivered. It’s made a massive difference because applying for funding like that can take so long, it would probably have been winter by the time we got one without his help.
“Hodgson Sealants are there for us for anything we might need, not just equipment, but advice and support too. We meet a lot of people in our roles, but very few are as genuine as Sam and the team.”
If you’d like to support Cherry Tree Youth Hub directly, you can get in touch with the team at ctca.org.uk
