Organisations come together for Winterton makeover

As part of national #WeCare Day on Friday 14 September, over 30 of our staff and volunteers embarked on a huge neighbourhood makeover in Winterton.

We Care Day was created by Placeshapers, which is a national network of more than 100 community based housing associations. The aim of the day was to encourage members to volunteer time to give back to their communities.

We coordinated teams throughout the day to complete the big clean up, with help from partner organisations such as Scunthorpe’s Buildbase, the Probation Service, North Lincolnshire Council, Humberside Police and Veolia Waste Management.

Residents also got involved, with four skips being filled with waste from homes and gardens in the area. Other activities to improve the look of the estate included litter picking, fence painting, grass cutting, flower planting and restoring broken fences.

Paul Grimley, Housing Management Team Leader here at Ongo said: “Our promise is that everything we do is put back into local communities, so events like We Care Day fit perfectly. For us, it’s what makes the job worthwhile.

“We’d like to thank all of our partners for giving up their time and resources, and helping to make the day a success. We can’t wait for the next one.”

Steve Marris, Branch Manager at Scunthorpe Buildbase, said: “Supporting community projects is something we feel is important, so when Ongo got in touch to tell us what they were planning we didn’t think twice about getting involved.

“We’ve really enjoyed today’s event, and are proud we were a part of it.”

Lisa Hall, who is one of our tenants living on the estate said: “I think it’s absolutely brilliant what Ongo are doing here today. They’re really committed to making a difference, and are doing a great job of tackling issues head on.”

We launched a vote on our Facebook page with a list of five places to pick from for a makeover. And after counting votes, Marmion Drive/Hiles Avenue in Winterton came out on top. This is something we’d like to do again in the future, so keep a look out to see how you can vote for your area.

To see photos from the day, click here.