We awarded funding to Cherry Orchard Garden Services CIC (COGS). They support learning-disabled adults who may have left school/college with minimal qualifications and are unable to find work due to high levels of anxiety and the complications of their circumstances.
By going to COGS, the individuals can develop a wide range of skills and build confidence by being part of a team with people who are in similar circumstances, thus creating new social circles and becoming confident in talking to others.
Once a service user is confident enough, they can be given the opportunity to work on local residents' private gardens and local graveyards as a way of feeling part of a workforce, as well as giving back to the community.
The grant they received was to purchase two walk-behind strimming machines. This enabled all service users to be included in the gardening jobs and contracts. They reported that they can now tell new service users they will be trained on a strimmer. They say that these machines have brought them a step closer to achieving that goal.