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Health care volunteers help animal sanctuary stay fighting fit 2 June 2003 Workers at Bupa’s Salford Quays head office are flexing their team-building muscles this weekend at the Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield, Lancs. A 30-strong team of volunteers, supported by Bupa Community Connections, are donning their overalls and grabbing their paintbrushes to give the sanctuary a much needed makeover during the next three days - beginning on Friday 6th June. The Bleakholt Sanctuary is home to more than 400 animals that have been abused or abandoned by their owners, including over 100 dogs, as well as cats, goats, rabbits, horses and donkeys. Set in around 70 acres in the Rossendale Valley, Bleakholt became a registered charity in 1969 and since then, has cared for hundreds of animals. Expanding over the years thanks to generous donations, the centre now houses a dog hospital, cattery, sheep shed, kennels and food store - but all are in urgent need of repair. And that’s where local volunteer, Lindsey Ash, came in - thanks to her work colleagues at Bupa. Lindsey said: “I have been volunteering at Bleakholt for over a year, helping out with dog-walking and fundraising, so I know the work they do is vital. In the office, we’ve been thinking, for ages, of having some form of team-building session. There are four separate teams on my floor, all working on different projects so we don’t really mix very often. We’re sure we could all benefit enormously from working closer together, so spending three days together, helping rebuild and paint kennels and other buildings to help out, seemed the perfect plan. “The icing on the cake came when Bupa’s Community Connections said they’d be happy to help and as well as us being given time away from the office, Community Connections has helped us with all the logistics.” Monica Owen, Bupa Community Connections, said: “Our people across the UK are committed to supporting community projects and hopefully we’ve been able to make a real difference at Bleakholt. This challenge has allowed our teams to sharpen their planning, organisation and teamwork skills, which will benefit our business too - so everybody wins!” Following on from this project Bupa Community Connections will be offering support to inner city children which will enable them to visit Bleakholt and interact with the animals. Neil Martin, manager of Bleakholt, said: “We depend solely on voluntary donations and legacies and have always had fantastic support from our volunteers - which has been vital for us to be able to carry on our work. I am delighted that Lindsey and her colleagues have given up so much of their time to help us out with this much needed face lift. The money that Bupa Community Connections has pledged means we can improve the animals’ habitat and, hopefully, give them a better quality of life. For further information about Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary and volunteering opportunities, visit www.bleakholt.org or call 01706 822577. Membership costs from as little as £5 per year. In addition, donations can be made at Bleakholt’s three charity shops in Blackburn, Accrington and Swinton.
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