Volunteers from Croudace Homes have stepped into the new year with action, offering a helping hand to local organisations, Crawley Open House and Downlands Partnership. The volunteering efforts were carried out as part of the housebuilders ongoing commitment to giving back, supporting both people in need and the local environment.

First opening its doors in 1982, Crawley Open House provides support and services for those suffering from the effects of homelessness, unemployment, loneliness, discrimination, and other forms of social exclusion. To support its ongoing efforts, a team of five volunteers from Croudace Homes helped prepare and serve lunch at the organisation’s hostel, cooking a lunch for 40 clients.

Following this endeavour, a further six more Croudace Homes volunteers visited Caterham Viewpoint Open Space to support the Downlands Partnership. Established in 1988, Downlands Partnership provides an urban fringe countryside management service across northeast Surrey and into Croydon and Sutton, maintaining and enhancing the local environment for biodiversity, wildlife and people. Their conservation crew works seasonally at Caterham Viewpoint, maintaining and restoring the rare chalk grassland habitat and ancient woodland for their partner Tandridge District Council.

The site is close to Croudace Homes’ head office and staff volunteers have been joining in on task sessions since early 2023. The Downlands Partnership is vitally supported by volunteers from the local communities, including regular involvement by corporate employee volunteers. The team from Croudace Homes, notably all of whom had volunteered at this site before and enjoyed it so much that they returned, assisted by raking up arisings from the brushcut areas and by cutting back targeted scrub, to open up the habitat so the native flora and fauna and biodiversity can thrive.

Adrian Watts, Chief Executive Officer at Croudace Homes, comments: “Supporting local organisations was a key focus for us at the start of the year, and this was a fantastic opportunity for our team to get involved with both local charities. From preparing meals for those in need to helping maintain local green spaces, both experiences were incredibly rewarding for our team. We are humbled to have played a small part in making a positive impact on both the local people and the environment."

Paul Yiu, from the Marketing & Communications team at Crawley Open House, from Crawley Open House, remarks: “We are grateful for the active support from Croudace Homes volunteers. Their dedication to preparing and serving meals at our hostel allowed for our residents to enjoy a warm and hearty lunch. It is enlightening to see local businesses giving back to the community, and we appreciate their ongoing commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of those we serve. Our support is available to anyone in need, and we encourage anyone in need of support to reach out.”

Debbie Hescott, Partnership Development Officer at Downlands Partnership adds: “We are so pleased to have developed a fantastic local corporate partnership with Croudace Homes over the last two years and look forward to welcoming more staff volunteers for further enjoyable conservation volunteering sessions with us at local sites going forward. The Croudace volunteers always get stuck in with great enthusiasm and effort, whatever the weather, and did another excellent job last month’.

Croudace Homes roll up their sleeves for community volunteering