Do Good Day 8th March 2023
The 8th of March is St John of God Day, a day to celebrate our founder and his legacy. We continue to do #GoodWork in his name, making a difference to the lives of the people we support.
“Do good for yourself by doing good for others” - Saint John of God
We wanted to mark the day with events and activities to #DoGood in our local communities involving the people we support and colleagues.
Autumn, Property Services
Autumn volunteered at the Overgate Hospice Donation Centre in Elland, helping to sort charity shop donations ready to be taken to their 14 different charity shops in Calderdale.
Autumn said, “The Donation Centre can easily receive 100 donations per day so there was a lot to sort through. Overgate Hospice’s charity shops raise £1.8m every year so it’s a really important source of income to help care for the patients at the hospice.”
Lindisfarne Court, Darlington
Colleagues and residents at Lindisfarne Court care home suggested a sponsored silence for service manager Amanda. She agreed to the challenge and was silent from 9am – 4.30pm raising more than £189!
St John’s Terrace, Scorton
Heather and Gillian collected and donated clothing to a charity of their choice.
They decided to go with Cancer Research UK and went along to their shop in Catterick Garrison to hand over their donations to their staff who were very grateful.
Toni Complex Care & Andrea Finance
Toni and Andrea organised a collection for a local food bank in Billingham. They collected from friends, family and colleagues and spent the day volunteering at the food bank when they delivered the donations.
Andrea said, “We spent the day learning the ins and outs of how the food bank works. We were welcomed by Billy, Alan, Geoff, Linda and Rita who all do a fabulous job with the donations!”
COO Dr Lisa Alcorn and Head of Service Development and Quality Ashley Wilson
Lisa and Ashley spent the day volunteering at Epinay School in South Tyneside. The school provides education to children aged 4-18 years and more than 50% of their students are on the Autistic Spectrum.
Lisa and Ashley spent the day working with the team at the school on developing an autism favourable environmental assessment for the school so that children and young people continue to thrive in their education.
Ashley said, “Amazing day today! Not only did we ‘do good’, we were lucky enough to take part in messy play lessons, PE and meet some fantastic children and teachers.”
Ceuta House, Brighton
The team at Ceuta House spent their day litter picking at Brighton beach.
Service manager, Bianca said, “Despite the weather challenges, we were encouraged by passers-by with their lovely wet dogs. It was a wonderful and rewarding action!”
Karen & Chantelle Marketing
Karen and Chantelle collected warm coats, hats, gloves and scarves to donate to the Wall of Kindness in Middlesbrough.
The wall of kindness was installed in December 2022 by a local businessman that wanted to help people that are homeless, or struggling with the rising cost of living.
The wall reads ‘If you are cold then help yourself... If you have a spare then be KIND and share..’
Chantelle said, “When we arrived the wall was pretty much empty. There was a showerproof jacket and pair of boots. It was freezing cold and frosty that day so we were glad we could fill the wall full of warm coats, hats, scarves and gloves.”
Emma, Fundraising
Emma spent the day volunteering with a charity called Main based in Middlesbrough. Main work with children and young adults with Autism.
Emma said, “I had a fab day working on a plan for using technology for young people!”
The People Team, Darlington
The people team spent their day litter picking on the beach in Seaton Carew where they filled 8 bags with rubbish!
Jo said, “It was bitterly cold but the sun was shining and after speaking to a few local residents along the way who told us how grateful they were, it made it worthwhile! The fish and chips were rather nice too!”
St Raphael’s, Bradford
The team from St Raphael’s care home spent their day baking cakes and treats for their local church.
Villa Maria, Kent
The team at Villa Maria residential home collected and donated food and other essential items to the Folkestone Rainbow Centre and The Salvation Army.
Sandown Road, Billingham
The residents and staff at Sandown Road care home completed a sponsored walk wearing fancy dress in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Service manager Emma said, “I cannot express how big of an achievement this is for the people we support, for them to walk in a large group for over an hour is just amazing. We have raised over £400!”
Balmaclellan, Catterick Village
The team at Balmaclellan residential home baked cakes and treats then donated them to Noel’s Court which offers sheltered accommodation for the elderly.
Craig IT and Bobby St John’s resident
Bobby from St John’s collected clothes and with the help of Craig he donated them to the local Salvation Army collection point.
The Cenacle, Liverpool
The team at The Cenacle collected donations for local food bank ‘Fans Supporting Foodbanks’. It’s a joint initiative between Liverpool FC and Everton FC supporters, founded in 2015 to tackle food poverty in Liverpool.
It provides a quarter of all food donations to North Liverpool food banks and has helped develop a network of fan-driven food banks across the UK.
The Old Vicarage, Stockton
The residents and staff at The Old Vicarage collected and donated items to a local food bank in need.
Outreach Services, Liverpool
SJOG outreach services in Liverpool collected and donated clothes to Scope and also went shopping for essential items and donated them in their local Tesco collection box.
Team Leader Anna said, “The donations made in Tesco will contribute to the creation of emergency food parcels to support families and individuals who are facing hardship in our local community.”
Cristina, Service Designer
Cristina wanted to support a cause she cares a lot about, sustainable fashion systems.
Cristina said, “I volunteered to help in Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross shopping centre through TRAID. Helping to sort, tag, hang, and organise clothes in the rags by colours for a few days (the last one being quite therapeutic for me, I love a tidy colour coded wardrobe).
Really interesting and powerful to see different charities collaborating in a common space to bring people closer and still supporting their own causes. Also, good to recognise all the effort behind and lots of people, like SJOG colleagues, giving their time for a good cause.”
Outreach Services, London
SJOG outreach services in London did everything from dog walking, helping service users with their shopping, volunteer at food banks and visited a care home to spread some love by gifting roses to all women on International Women’s Day.
SJOG Homes For Ukraine team
The Homes for Ukraine team spent their day visiting Olallo House in London where they treated colleagues and service users to some delicious Turkish Delight.
Project Manager Mariia said, “We always cherish our conversations with the residents at Olallo House and look forward to future visits!”
They also gifted three Ukrainian families with gift vouchers to purchase spring clothing and enjoy a meal at Wagamamma.
Regents House, Middlesbrough
The team reached out to Middlesbrough Council who provided SJOG with litter picking equipment so they could tidy up the streets around their services. The council came to pick up the bags that had been filled by the team, and they were shocked at how much rubbish the team had managed to pick up!
Ambrose House, Enfield
The team at Ambrose House spent their day volunteering at a local church. The team cleared up the back yard of the church, clearing rubbish and cutting down trees for more than 3 hours in the freezing cold.
They also helped the church prepare the food bank for the next day.
SJOG Team Lead Vinay said, “It was a great day for the team to be able to contribute towards our community!”
St John’s Terrace, Scorton
The residents at St John’s Terrace decided to have a clear out so they could donate clothes to the local Salvation Army collection.
Brentwood, Leyburn
The residents and staff of Brentwood decided to spend their day walking dogs for their neighbours. Everyone had a great day, including the dogs!
Carmona House, Birmingham
The team wanted to contribute to their local community by litter picking in the local park. The team battled the snow to finish the job and returned to the office where they enjoyed some well-deserved pizza.
