Teams of volunteers from Farnell, the Leeds-based electronics firm, have been helping members of older people's charity Armley Helping Hands to develop and maintain their much-needed green haven.

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The volunteers' input has included laying fresh flower beds, plants and benches, as well as fundraising to help buy new equipment.

And as the perfect gift for the New Year, the team recently returned to the charity's base at Strawberry Lane Community Centre to lay the new 'memory mosaics' created by members.

Dawn Newsome, project manager at Armley Helping Hands, said: "Many of our older people who come to the centre very rarely get to leave their homes, so having access to a garden for them is all the more important.

"The work that our volunteer team has carried out has been fantastic.

"They have become an extremely valuable part of the Armley Helping Hands team, taking time to talk to the older people and to understand the problems and difficulties that they face but also share their experiences and have some fun.

"It is really encouraging to be working with a local business that recognises the values of giving time to people in their community.'
The garden project was part of Farnell's volunteer programme, aimed at giving local groups a boost..

Garden project manager Stuart Munton said "The project team have worked very hard and have achieved a huge amount of work.

"The team really enjoyed the time we spent working with Armley Helping Hands and got a great amount of satisfaction from the results of the work.

"It is really great to be able to give something back to the community with which we as a company have such close associations. "