Coleg Llandrillo Skills for Life and Work students raise money for local charity
Coleg Landrillo Skills for Life and Work students recently made a trip to personally deliver funds they had raised for local charity, Crest, during their Christmas market last December.
The enterprising students sold handmade craft and food items at the festive market at Coleg Llandrillo and collected a total of £212.50 for Crest in order to give back to their local community.
Crest was originally established as a social enterprise in 1998. The group became a registered charity in 2020 and with initial lottery funding aimed to establish a community co-operative to help disabled and unemployed people increase their skills and gain employment. Today, Crest has four shops across Conwy & Denbighshire and operates an electrical and white goods recycling centre, helping disadvantaged people who have become socially excluded and those with learning disabilities to gain life skills, as well as real work experience, in a supported environment.
The students received a warm welcome from Crest and handed over their cheque.
“We want to say a massive thank you for all your hard work and for raising funds for us. It will help a lot of people,” said Thomas Montgomery, Happitat Development Manager & Marketing co-ordinator at Crest Co-operative.
Rod Williams, Managing Director of Crest, added: “It was incredibly generous of the students to raise money for Crest. We will make sure that this money goes straight to our foodbank to support families and individuals across North Wales who are at risk of food and hygiene poverty.”
The students then enjoyed a tour of the Llandudno Junction hub, getting to see first hand where their donation would be going and how it will help others.
“I liked going to see Crest. I liked hearing about the garden at Crest," said one of the students.
The power of community
The fundraising event and visit to Crest is just the beginning for this partnership. The trip to visit the charity and meet staff meant that Coleg Llandrillo was able to strengthen links with the community it serves. Amongst other ideas, tutors discussed the possibility of representatives from Crest attending the Skills for Life and Work course end of year celebration to showcase to parents and students career pathways and opportunities within Crest’s Supported Ability Placement programme.
To find out more about Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s Skills for Life and Work offer visit: https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses/skills-for-life-and-work
You can find more information about the work Crest does here: https://www.crestcooperative.co.uk/contact-us/
