The LSH Credit UK team were delighted to spend the day working at the Mersey Vale Nature Park in Stockport, near Manchester, and supporting the local community.

Mersey Vale Nature Park is a local nature reserve operated by Stockport Council. It provides a habitat for a range of local wildlife and green spaces for the local community. It also houses a large orchard, which provides liveable space for wildlife, cools the urban environment and helps prevent flooding during periods of significant rainfall (not uncommon around Manchester).

This is the second time we have worked at the nature park. Last year, we worked to fertilise and prune the orchard trees. This year, we tackled a large overgrown area, cutting back brambles and dead trees to provide more clear space. After a fruitful day, the team cleared a large space which can now be used for other nature park initiatives.

The full LSH Credit Australia team joined forces and participated in a telethon-style fundraising event for Ronald McDonald House (“RMH”). RMH is a charity that supports sick kids and their families whilst they are receiving treatment at the nearby hospitals. When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, it impacts the whole family and lives can be turned upside down. RMH provides a range of programmes to help families stay together and be close to the care they need. Families of such disadvantaged children are grappling with more than any of us can imagine. Keeping them close is the most important step in helping families cope through the stress, trauma and financial strain of caring for their child.

The day started with some impactful stories told from the families who have been with the programme, which provided the team motivation to work as hard as possible for their cause. For the event itself the LSH Credit teams reached out to our extensive networks with the aim of raising as much money as possible. We took to the challenge with a great buzz in the House. We are pleased to report that the team was involved in raising over A$50,000 for the children and their families.

Continuing with the “food for the ones in need” theme, our Melbourne and Sydney teams joined forces and participated in the “OzHarvest – Cooking for a Cause” CSR event on 14 December 2023.

OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation saving surplus food from ending up in landfill. Good quality surplus food is collected from a network of donors including supermarkets, cafes, delis, hotels, airlines and restaurants, then delivered direct and free of charge to charities nationally.

“Cooking for a cause” is also a unique team building activity. We were hosted by our chef, a master of zero-waste cooking, in an industrial kitchen. From learning how to chop an onion properly to cooking root to stem, we were inspired by this cooking session full of practical tips and tricks for us to apply at home. After creating over 150 delicious and nutritious meals, we packed the food ready for OzHarvest to deliver to local charities.

This was a very educational and rewarding experience for all of us.

Tucked away in between a major motorway, a busy suburban village and 10 minutes’ walk away from the head office of LSH Credit’s business operations in the UK is an oasis of green landscape, Mersey Vale Nature Park. Within the nature park is The Sidings Community Orchard which is Greater Manchester’s largest orchard and home to a variety of fruit trees.

The staff in Credit UK volunteered and assisted the local community with the task of mulching and pruning the trees ready for the winter months. This will enable the trees to harvest more fruits for the community in the future.

With guidance from a local volunteer, armed with spades and forks, the team started digging out grass and weeds, before surrounding the tree base with mulch. We were given a lesson on how to prune the fruit trees to enable more light and air to branches, which will assist the tree in producing more fruits.

Whilst it was hard work, the day was great fun away from the office whilst being able contribute to the local community. We look forward to a return visit in the near future as part of our CSR activities.

“Many of us have a choice of what to eat, but think about those on the streets – they might not even have a chance to eat. And sadly, the number of people needing food assistance has been increasing, and what you contribute today could help to change someone’s life.” This was one of the key takeaways for the team at LSH Credit Australia (“LSHC AU”) from our latest CSR activity.

On 17 August 2023 in Sydney, all 12 of the LSHC AU staff took part in “OUR BIG KITCHEN”, a community-run industrial kitchen where meals are prepared for distribution to the disadvantaged across the city.

LSHC AU team shares OUR BIG KITCHEN’s belief in the power of communal giving back to society. It was proud to have prepared a total of 169 packages of meal in 2 hours. Whilst the goal was to prepare and distribute meals to those in need, the journey of how the meal was made was equally important. From preparing the ingredients, to cooking and packing the food together, the team enjoyed the opportunity to get together.

The speaker at the end of the day gave a powerful speech on the importance of love and empowerment. As we departed from OUR BIG KITCHEN, the team was left with an indelible sense of community, humility and fulfilment, with promises of more to come.