Employees from Monmouthshire Housing Association (MHA) were in Abergavenny last week helping to support Friends of Bailey Park as part of a volunteering scheme.

MHA hold around three volunteering days a year where staff go out into the local community offering their services to other volunteer and community groups.

Having previously worked with Friends of Bailey Park in helping them receive monetary grants, around 15 employees from the Sustainable Communities Team were in attendance at Bailey Park on Friday July 22 assisting volunteers in clearing up the park and garden area, including weeding the rockery. Friends of Bailey Park volunteers were very grateful for the support and now hope that links forged with the group will provide a gateway to more funding from groups including MHA and GAVO.

Friends of Bailey Park chair, Judith Vicary said: “It has been wonderful working together with members of Monmouthshire Housing Association, who had come to help in Bailey Park with pruning, clearing away undergrowth, tidying up and weeding, on one of their Volunteer Days.

“Before work, we enjoyed a delicious African chicken and rice meal, kindly provide by Rachel Barry of MHA. All of us volunteers would like thank Rachel and all your wonderful team for helping out.”

Rachel Barry, Engagement Officer of MHA, was one of the volunteers helping out on Friday.

She said: “We have had a fantastic day visiting Bailey Park and helping the Friends with their excellent work they do within the park. Although we have recently been in contact with Friends of Bailey Park, this is our first visit to the Park and it has been wonderful to see the great work undertaken by the volunteers.

“We are trying to utilise our volunteering days to help support local communities and groups within Monmouthshire. This includes work with groups such as Rockfield Football Club and Caldicot Rugby Club, and we hope to and plan on returning to Bailey Park to help the Friends volunteer group again in the near future.”