Harmony Fire visit ARK at Egwood

"Being involved in a day like this was fantastic - it was great to be outdoors, working as a team and having fun whilst helping out."

Harmony Fire, a Sherborne-based company delivering fire and life safety engineering solutions, approached us to help them find a volunteering placement for their team. We connected them with ARK at Egwood, a land-based day facility in South Somerset which offers a range of activities and services to improve people's health and wellbeing. 

Working alongside the ARK team, the Harmony volunteers completed a variety of tasks including rebuilding and improving the tranquil pond space, and constructing a fence for a new animal pen.  

Siobhan Kelly, Harmony Fires’ Events Coordinator explains why they chose corporate volunteering as a team building activity; “We wanted to carry out a volunteering day as it fitted perfectly with our charitable foundations’ ethos of supporting social and local communities and providing young people with opportunities. Helping at ARK seemed the perfect way of combining a team building day with doing good in the local community”. 

“The team always get a huge sense of pride and satisfaction when helping others out through volunteering days. Being involved in a day like this is fantastic for team morale. Seeing what organisations do for people who need it the most spurs the team on and gives everyone a positive outlook." 

"These volunteering days are also great for working with colleagues you wouldn’t normally work with and getting to know each other better. After Covid and a year of not having much face-to-face interaction, it was hugely beneficial for the team’s wellbeing. There is a lot to be said for being outside in fresh air just enjoying nature."

James Shepperdley, Marketing Assistant at Harmony Fire, who took part in the volunteering day said; “Being involved in a day like this was fantastic - it was great to be outdoors, working as a team and having fun whilst helping out. It was a real eye opener to see what a difference ARK makes to Its members, that inspired me to want to help. It was great to see kind, generous people doing what's best for others. For us as a team, it was a great bonding exercise and gave us the opportunity to spend time with colleagues we wouldn’t usually work with.’ 

Nigel Bell, Director of ARK at Egwood explains; “Having volunteer days like this is a massive help to us here at ARK. A job like this for one of our team would take over a week, so to get this done in a day is fantastic!”