United Welsh makes a difference with pupils

United Welsh has teamed up with pupils from Hengoed Primary School to make a difference to the environment on national Make a Difference Day.

Seventeen children aged between six and 11 spent the day (8 November) picking up the litter from their school grounds and playing fields equipped with litter-grabbers provided by United Welsh and joined by the organisation’s community services team.

Some of the pupils live at the nearby Heol Rees estate, where their families are United Welsh residents, and where they also collected litter.

Make a Difference Day, run by Community Service Volunteers (CSV), aims to encourage people to give time rather than cash to get involved and make a difference to their communities.

David Williams, Community Services Manager at United Welsh, heads up a team of people employed to support and develop the communities where its 3,500 residents live and said their latest initiative was a success – and the first of more. 

“It was a great fun day out and about,” he said.  “It was a really hands-on way for the pupils to learn about good citizenship and how they can make a real difference to their local community.  This is the first of several ‘green’ projects we’re planning with Hengoed Primary.” 

Sian Sullivan, class teacher at the school, said “Without the support of United Welsh we wouldn’t have been able to involve as many pupils in Make a Difference Day. 

“We wanted our pupils to take responsibility for their litter and directly participate in making their community a greener place.  We’re working towards the Eco Schools Green Flag and Make a Difference Day has taken us a huge step closer to achieving this award.“