【Daily Life in the UK】Cut off work to do volunteer work? !

16-09-2021 I didn't go to work today because I went to volunteer!

Absolutely no skipping work! I am very upright, serious, and I have not joined the company to work~ because this volunteer activity is organized by the company! ! But I definitely wouldn't say I did it to not work XDD

For the first time, I participated in a volunteer activity in the UK, at a hospice center about 30 minutes away from the company. In the morning, I took a ride with my kind colleague C, which was not so smooth, to get there. (My colleague C is really nice. Although it’s not very convenient, he let me take his car to attend company events every time. I really thank him ❤)

Arrived there at 10 in the morning, and the staff first introduced us to the background of the center. This charity has been established for 20 years and has been providing free physical and mental care and various assistance to patients and their families in need. Heard their total patient numbers have risen by around 12% since this outbreak, they are helping around 250 patients a day, and they are spending around £16,000 a day to keep the centre running!

Because the daily operating expenses are already huge, there is simply no more budget to hire people to carry out environmental renovations, so these renovations can only rely on the help of volunteers. However, due to the epidemic, the number of volunteers has decreased, so some places have begun to fall into disrepair. Today we are here to help.

We mostly help with repainting all the garden railings and deep cleaning some of the car parks.

In front of and on the right side of the center is a large grass field with many beautiful flowers 😍

In fact, there is a lake in the middle of the garden, but because the surrounding plants have not been trimmed, a large part of the lake has been blocked by trees and grass.

By the way, the weather is great today! Blue sky and white clouds, gentle breeze, the sun is high. It's a little uncomfortable to be in the sun for a long time, and I seem to hear vaguely,

My collagen is screaming for help~~~~

I think the next time I participate, I must wear a hat to shade it! Otherwise, it is not good for the skin to be exposed to the sun for too long.

The whole event will end at 4pm. After a whole day of sweating, squatting and squatting, most of the railings were finally repainted, and the parking lot was cleaned for more than half. Although it's only been cleaned and painted a little, the whole feels a bit new, and sure enough a proper refurbishment is still needed. I believe that seeing a beautiful environment will make anyone feel better ❤

I think it's really nice that this event allows us to get out of the office and do something meaningful eh! Especially because of the epidemic, everyone in the company wears masks, and even if they say hello and chat, there is a sense of distance. It is rare for this event to be held outdoors, because everyone has already received 2 vaccines and has done the Lateral Flow Antigen Test before participating in the event, so masks can be omitted outdoors, and we can finally talk to each other. To facial expressions! how to say? I just don't feel so distant, I feel like it's back to normal.

I really hope everything can return to normal soon, I haven't seen my family for a long time. . Although there are video calls every week, I still hope that next year's Chinese New Year can go home and reunite with my family~~