Sunrise Real Estate (“Sunrise”) is working with Evergreen Play Association ("Evergreen") based in Hackney, London. Sunrise kicked off their partnership last week with an action-packed garden renovation project which saw 13 Sunrise employees rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in.

Evergreen offer child-led play to local children aged 5-15 and one-to-one supported play for children with special educational needs, from a large adventure playground. The borough part funds non-essential child services like this one, in an attempt to offer an enjoyable, yet safe place for young people to play and interact with others.

The Sunrise crew split into sub-teams with an even distribution of DIY experience before getting to work rebuilding timber walkways, painting fences and decking, cleaning roofs and gutters and clearing out ponds. Outsourcing these manual tasks to volunteers allows Evergreen staff to focus on their core work with the children and maintain a safe, clean environment.

Richard Hollingsworth, CFO at Sunrise, said: “We are thrilled to be able to support Evergreen, the only facility of its kind in Hackney and the surrounding boroughs which supports both disabled and non disabled children. With local council budgets stretched tighter than ever, there is little support for play and safe spaces to belong – yet these environments are transformative to the lives of local kids, allowing them to flourish and develop life skills outside of the family unit. Our day on site was a great chance to help out, but also to hear about their work and the long-term need for corporate support, with funding decreasing while running costs are on the rise."

We’re delighted to be able to play a small part in Evergreen’s vital contribution to the community and look forward to continuing our support on the next project.