When the idea of a team-building day was raised, the Admin and Archives teams from Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green, jumped at the chance to work voluntarily at Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, Barrow Gurney, Bristol which rescues and rehomes unwanted, abandoned and often mistreated cats and dogs. The independent charity is well known to the team as their Senior Manager, Liz Foster-Hall, regularly provides emergency foster care for the charity and also adopted office favourite, Tufty - a loveable husky/collie cross - from the Sanctuary too.
Last July, Liz rescued Tufty from the centre having been found by local police in distressing circumstances. Liz originally agreed to take Tufty on an emergency foster placement, but fell in love with her and welcomed her into her home. Liz says: “The difference in Tufty is incredible and she’s always welcome at our office. We’re all animal lovers in the team and believe that working and interacting with animals is a great way to promote wellbeing and positive mental health, so we agreed time volunteering at the sanctuary would be beneficial for everyone. Our colleague, Chris, also rescued gorgeous Sheprador, Stevie Ticks, from Holly Hedge too. She’s not only a hit with our staff, but also a bit of a social media star too with over 85K followers!”
Keen to do something to help the animal sanctuary as a team, the group rolled-up their sleeves last week, to spend a day helping to improve its dog sensory garden and build and decorate a new cat isolation shelter. Plus they ensured the rescue pets also got plenty of cuddles too!
As well their volunteering efforts, the team pulled together to fundraise towards the sanctuary’s growing vet bills. They raised £650 in total which included a generous £500 donation directly from Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green. Many pets arrive at the shelter with urgent medical needs so donations like these are vital.
Andrew Oakerbee, Hospital Director, Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green, says: “Contributing to our local community is really important to us at the hospital. The teambuilder allowed us to extend our care outside of our usual healthcare roles and has helped us to understand some of the work the local charity does. Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary do such a great job, but we were shocked at how many animals need urgent medical attention and how large some of the vet bills can be so we wanted to donate what we could both financially and physically to help. Supporting the charity is a pleasure for us and we’re so glad we could do our little bit to support them.”
Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, receives no Government funding and relies on the generosity and goodwill of supporters.
Richard Baker, Trustee and corporate day volunteer at Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, says: “We were thrilled to welcome the team from Practice Plus Group, Emersons Green, for the day and are so grateful for the generous donations they have been raising for us. Their help on the day clearing and improving our dog sensory garden and painting and organising the new cat isolation unit was invaluable. I know our cats and dogs loved the extra attention and cuddles on the day too and it was lovely to see the team interacting with the animals and feeling the positive benefits of some animal therapy. There is always a lot to do here and we really welcome the support of the community.”
Practice Plus Group Hospital, Emersons Green specialises in hip and knee replacements, hernia and cataract surgery. Private patients can book consultations directly with Wellsoon private healthcare from Practice Plus Group, and NHS patients can ask their GP for a referral. Visit www.practiceplusgroup.com
For more information about the charity visit Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary