Family day out – Active Change Haringey host intergenerational volunteering
Family day out – Active Change Haringey host intergenerational volunteering
By Habiba Begum, Community Development Project Manager, ELBA
Active Change Haringey, powered by Wheely Tots, hosted 45 volunteers from Standard Chartered for an impactful team challenge day at Broadwater Farm Community Centre. What made the day particularly special was its intergenerational dynamic with Standard Chartered employees bringing their children along to volunteer alongside them.
The day was designed around mutual value – combining practical community work with high-level skill sharing:
- Food Bank and safeguarding training: Corporate volunteers sorted over 50 bread baskets of food – enough to support 150 local households. In return, a Standard Chartered team member delivered a tailored safeguarding training session to eight of our regular community volunteers, freeing up our core team while corporate volunteers took the lead on food distribution.
- Community garden refurbishment: Working alongside Friends of Harmony Gardens, volunteers built new raised beds, pruned hedges, weeded and harvested fresh produce.
- Bushcraft: A dedicated team trialled new, lightweight bushcraft equipment – building mini waterproof shelters, setting up hammocks and running a fire pit with marshmallows. The group captured these activities into reusable self-guided resource sheets, which can be used for future youth and community sessions across Harmony Gardens.
“The day was extremely rewarding for all concerned. In particular, I loved seeing the interactions between our corporate volunteers and regular volunteers working side by side. During our end of day feedback, our regular local volunteers shared that they felt deeply appreciated.”
— CEO, Wheely Tots
As a charity, Wheely Tots brings nearly two decades of experience in bringing different age groups together – originally starting with parents and toddlers. Hosting parents and children alongside corporate teams plays directly to their strengths, creating a uniquely inclusive and rewarding volunteering environment.
Active Change Haringey regularly hosts tailored, high impact corporate volunteering days – from food bank logistics and community gardening to interior refurbishments and outdoor bushcraft and other support to local sports and activity providers.
Thank you to Standard Chartered volunteers and their families too.
To discuss a bespoke team building or corporate volunteering day for your organisation, please get in touch with the ELBA Challenge Team – [email protected].
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