Sustainable living is something that we can all do by making simple changes every day. Here are just a few reasons how recycling this will reduce your environmental impact by recycling:

– Conserves natural resources: recycling paper and wood saves trees; recycling plastic means creating less demand for new plastic

– Protect our eco system and wildlife: recycling will reduce the need to harvest, grow or extract new raw materials

– Save energy: making products from recycled material requires less energy than making them from new raw materials. It can be as much as 40% less energy to make paper from recycled pulp

– Reduce climate-changing carbon emissions

– Cheaper waste collection and disposal: the more we recycle, the less we put in bins to landfill, the more money is saved, good news for households, businesses and local public services

Across communities, towns and parish councils, an army of volunteers support the Local authorities collecting Litter. For residents in Wychavon, Malvern Hills and Worcestershire, they can now make even more of an impact on their daily Litter picks. The latest recycling project, featuring the Handicart Lite and Handicart Duo donated through Helping Hand Community Trust, each resident can increase the litter they collect by as much as 240% and separate recyclables to reduce waste going to landfill.

“Thank you very much for choosing Evesham Town Council to join your project. I am volunteer for Anti-Litter Evesham who receives their equipment from Wychavon and also I am an Adopt a street volunteer. I go litter picking at least once a week around different areas and this cart will be extremely useful to me on my litter picks” Evesham Town Council

As part of our commitment to sustainable manufacturing, each one of the Litter picking carts contain 35% recycled material content and are 100% recyclable. Complete with dual hoop, you can create your own two way waste stream of dry mixed recyclables and general waste. Whilst every area has different waste streams and processes for recycling, this should not be a reason to not do it.

To find out more about the range of sustainable litter segregation carts

Interested in knowing about community volunteer Litter pickers in your area, join UK Litter picking group Facebook group

The Downs Light Railway Trust is delighted and honoured to receive match funding from The Helping Hand Company and the very generous donations from supporters of the Isherwood family’s 48 hour fitness challenge. The collective £50,000 provides 25% of the funding required to complete our Centenary Development Programme. This funding will go towards facilitating greater practical learning opportunities for young people, supporting and promoting career development into heritage railway, national railway, and STEM-related industries.

It’s a win for Lucy and Thomas!

[Left to Right] Tim Dunn (Historian and Television Presenter), Lord Faulkner of Worcester (President of the HRA and Patron of the Downs Light Railway Trust), Sophia Rose, Lucy Isherwood and Thomas Isherwood (Award Winners), Frederick Toher, Henry Needham, and Timothy Pennock (Chairman of the Downs Light Railway Trust)

On the 19th March 2022, the Downs Light Railway Trust attended the Heritage Railway Association’s Awards Ceremony as a short-list entry for the Most Innovative Fundraising Idea Award. The efforts of Thomas and Lucy were duly rewarded when they received the famous HRA plaque from Brian Simpson (HRA Chairman) and Tim Dunn (Historian and TV Presenter) on behalf of the Downs Light Railway Trust.

This award, sponsored by Hallett Oils, is awarded to a HRA operating member that has produced the most innovative fundraising project or scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic. We congratulate the Bluebell Railway and the Class 502 Preservation Trust for also getting shortlisted for this category.

The awards evening was a great opportunity for our young members to meet other railway operators, see all the great work done by other organisations across the heritage railway sector, but most importantly see that they and we are part of a bigger community. We were delighted to catch up with our patron and HRA President Lord Faulkner of Worcester. It was also great to meet familiar faces from other railways and foster new friendships.

During the early part of 2021, Thomas and Lucy nurtured an opportunity to raise significant funds for our development programme. Liaising with a local engineering business that gave Thomas work experience, they were given a target to raise donations within a three-month period. In return, the local engineering business agreed to match their funding by 20 times.

In between Thomas’s GCSE exams and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, they sort approval from the Downs Light Railway Trust to fundraise. They developed a fundraising strategy by themselves, produced fundraising flyers in consultation with the Trust, and setup an online fundraiser. They investigated various options for a fitness challenge to engage their audiences. They promoted the fundraising through their social media accounts, emails to their class peers and teachers, and notices around their school. Thomas setup a live stream for the event on YouTube, so that donors could watch the 24-hour cycle from home.

They set themselves an ambitious target of £2000 and exceeded it during the 24-hour cycle to achieve £2,350. The local engineering company honoured their match funding pledge, awarding the Downs Light Railway Trust with a donation of £47,650 to bring Thomas and Lucy’s fundraiser up to £50,000. This amazing achievement has helped us complete 1/4 of the funding required for our Centenary Development Programme.

“The trustees and I are absolutely indebted to the Isherwood family, to those who supported their fundraiser, and to The Helping Hand company for generously agreeing to match the funding with such a large donation. This effort has provided one quarter of the overall funding required for our Centenary Development Programme. We move one significant step forwards in realising something quite special.” Timothy E. Pennock, Chairman, Downs Light Railway Trust

The Shop at Bromsberrow opened at the Business Park in Bromsberrow Heath 8 years ago and serves a rural community with a 5 mile radius plus passing customers – it’s very popular with walkers and cyclists. The owners of the previous Shop and Post Office were retiring, so a community group set up to make sure a vital village service was retained. The Shop is a community non-profit organisation, and is run by around 40 volunteers from the local community ( aged 14 to 80+) and two very hard working part time paid staff, including the Shop Manager.

The Shop is more than just a Shop. As well as being a general store, stocking a wide range of products from local and national suppliers, it is also a community hub. There’s a part time post office, dry cleaning, hardware, gifts, plants, newspapers and delivery services for people in the area who are unable to travel. The Shop also has a cafe and runs events. During Covid, these were put on hold, but the Shop was aware of many people in the local community who were lonely and also some who were needing help with meals. The Community Meals service was born out of this, and since November, the Shop has been making and delivering around 50 meals once a fortnight for people within a 5 mile radius of the Shop.

The Helping Hand donation has enabled the Shop to completely refit its functional but worn out kitchen so it can continue and expand its cafe and meals service to the local community.

Encouraging pupils, with a little help from their teacher and parents to get involved in protecting and preserving their local green space, beaches and beautiful coastline is something we are very passionate about. In support of National Thank you Day and the G7 Summit, all 206 schools and colleges across Cornwall now have their very own eco-tool kit.

Littering is one of those things that no upside. It is an eyesore, it spread dirt and bacteria, it’s an expensive problem to deal with and it harms the planet. Sadly, over the large majority of litter ends up in the ocean. In fact, over 9 billion tonnes of rubbish finds its way into the sea every year.

Be part of the change – whilst Litter picking open your eyes to the scale of the problem, every piece of litter collected will help our eco system, protect wildlife and you can see the difference. There is increasing support for the use of pro-environment volunteering as a way to overcome ecological and public health challenges. It’s a great boost to mental health and well-being, the area where you live, to the oceans we enjoy playing in. But watch out, it’s quite infectious too!

Made by the team in Herefordshire, the Litter pickers now contain 39% recycled material. Helping Hand sustainable manufacturing is committed to minimising the negative environmental impact, conserve energy and natural resources. Testing to perform over 200,000 picks, these Litter grabbers are tried and trusted to be used again and again part of the Helping Hand family; from 18″/45cm Tidy Jon Pro upto our 10ft Litterpicker Pro.

Blisland Primary School “The children have recently asked about litter picking the local area. We have been meaning to source some equipment and resources, thank you for providing them for free”.

Working in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, Eco-Schools International, Beach Guardian and Ellie Jackson (author of) Wild Tribe Heroes this is just one project and part of Helping Hand Environmental commitment to support a more sustainable future . To find out what’s happening in your area, please follow on UK Litterpicking Groups or sign up online ….

Why should we recycle – conserve resources, save energy, protect the environment, reduce landfill? Absolutely, but did you also know that by recycling stuff that we would normally through away, it can be converted into money to help those in need?

Nearly 3 years ago Andrew Wood set up the Herefordshire Recycling and Reuse group, he now has over 5,000 active Facebook members. They collect bottle tops and crisp packets, old cables and leads, all which can be sold on to be recycled and raise thousands of pounds for local charities. Clothing, bedding, toys & books, furniture including beds, sofas, chairs, fridge, cooker, microwaves all donated free to help create new homes for struggling families. The current pandemic has seen a surge in both the donations and the support needed for so many vulnerable people across Herefordshire. However collecting, and moving the furniture has become a real nightmare! Now Andrew has his own 100% recycled van!

Andrew Wood

I am a solo worker and a volunteer. I’ve worked together with the team at Helping Hand on many projects over the years including sponsorship of a primary school as part of our Schools recycling project, making ‘Brummie bull’ as part of our Education programme and more. Their latest recycling project has left me truly speechless! Sadly we have a growing number of vulnerable people across Herefordshire who need our support – and now we will be able to do even more.

Gavin James, Managing Director

It is a great pleasure to see and support a local initiative that does so much for the environment while supporting those in need. Andrew it is a treat to be associated with you.

To read more about other projects we support please visit helpinghand.co.uk/projects-community

This Christmas our Community Scheme donated Christmas presents to the women and children staying at the Women’s Refuge.

The parcels included towels, pyjamas, slippers, soaps and aromatherapy sets for the women and hats, scarfs, toys and sweets for the children.

In April 2020 we donated £5,000 to the Ledbury and Hereford Food Banks to help with the increased demand caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Jonathan Andrew, Hon Treasurer at Ledbury Food Bank said, “This donation is exceptionally generous. I know that The Helping Hand Company has been working very hard in the present coronavirus pandemic to meet urgently needed supplies so we are grateful that they have given consideration to the needs of our local community”.

Phil King, Treasurer at Hereford Food Bank said, “A most generous donation. As you can imagine, in the current crisis there is a greatly increased demand for our services so your gift is very welcome. Thank you for thinking of us.

In March 2020, we donated a reading shed to Bosbury Primary School.  The school was struggling with space to provide one on one reading with the youngest children and therefore some of our employees put their DIY skills to good use building the shed during a weekend.  The children were delighted when they returned to school to discover their new reading shed.  We are delighted to contribute to further increasing their enthusiasm in books and learning to read.

On Christmas Eve some of our employees and their children dressed as Santa and his elves to donate 50 presents to the Children’s Ward at Hereford County Hospital. 35 of our employees got involved in the project by helping to purchase the presents whilst out doing their Christmas shopping