RAF servicemen fly in to give charity a helping hand

Members of RAF Waddington have been supporting the work of The Nomad Trust and YMCA Lincolnshire with more than 30 servicemen taking part in charity projects across the county.
Volunteers from RAF Waddingham spent a day helping YMCA Lincolnshire and The Nomad TrustVolunteers from RAF Waddingham spent a day helping YMCA Lincolnshire and The Nomad Trust
Volunteers from RAF Waddingham spent a day helping YMCA Lincolnshire and The Nomad Trust

The volunteers, who pledged their support as part of their community support programme, were stationed at a number of YMCA and Nomad Trust facilities to support the charities, as well as putting their maintenance skills to the test.

The Nomad Trust is a Lincoln-based charity, which operates the county’s only direct access night shelter as well as two charity shops to support their services.

Elise Land, retail manager, said: “Both retail teams, staff and volunteers have commented on the focus of each individual on each day.

“They tackled all the tasks thoroughly and at speed, they were all a real credit.”

Jon Eagers, a maintenance worker from YMCA Lincolnshire’s The Showroom, added: “A big thank you to the teams that turned up, it’s great to have such highly skilled volunteers.”

The RAF support enabled a number of exciting developments to take place, including refurbishment within the YMCA Housing department, groundworks at The Showroom, sorting a large volume of stock and supporting retail operations.

A team of four also assisted at YMCA’s Beginnings daycare centre, based in Gainsborough.

Zara Smith, childcare manager, said: “They painted our community room and hall areas and also dug a vegetable patch for the children to use.

“The children are very excited about their vegetable patch and they have already decided that they will be planting carrots, tomatoes and peppers.

“The people that attended were fabulous.

“Their hard work has helped to improve the look of the setting and has laid the foundations for some valuable learning opportunities for the children.”

The team expressed their wishes in returning to help YMCA Lincolnshire and The Nomad Trust in the future.

You can support YMCA Lincolnshire and The Nomad Trust by visiting www.lincsymca.co.uk/support-us