We welcome a team of volunteers to Northampton

Staff at leading professional services firm PwC were making a difference on Friday (19 May) by working with St Andrew’s staff and patients as part of the annual ‘One Firm, One Day’ project.

One Firm One Day is PwC’s firm-wide annual fundraising and volunteering event where staff from across the UK are encouraged to join together and take part in giving something back to local communities. 36 staff from across PwC’s offices across the Midlands visited St Andrew’s Healthcare headquarters in Northampton, which provides healthcare for patients with some of the most complex, challenging mental health needs in the UK.

Volunteers joined patients, some of whom don’t have many visitors, for a ‘walk and talk’ in the hospital grounds, and also played a game of walking football. Staff – who worked alongside 22 members of St Andrew’s finance and procurement team - also took part in gardening, painting, helping in the coffee shop and garden centre, as well as bringing their professional expertise to help improve some of the patient work experience areas.

Dawn Wright, Voluntary Services Manager for St Andrew’s, said: “The day was a fantastic first volunteering day for PwC and St Andrew’s, but we hope not the last.  PwC were a great team who were all very generous with their time and commitment to their given tasks and our staff and patients thoroughly enjoyed working alongside them.  Their support on Friday made a real and measureable difference to our patients and services.  We are truly grateful for their support."

One Firm, One Day saw more than 20 teams of PwC staff across the Midlands take part in various activities. Some joined local schools to provide employability sessions, and others took part in environmental volunteering with hospitals, hospices and charities and community organisations.

Rebecca Cooke, partner and community affairs lead for PwC in the Midlands, said: “We would like to thank all of our colleagues and the organisations involved for making One Firm, One Day so successful. The impact of the day across communities is fantastic, and it is a great way for our staff to use their skills and experience to benefit others."

If you are interested in volunteering for St Andrew's - in Northampton, Essex, Birmingham or Nottinghamshire - visit our website to find out more.