Confirmed – Monday 20th July 2026

Organisation Details

The Sunlight Development Trust is a Gillingham-based charity dedicated to enhancing the physical and mental well-being, reducing loneliness, and fostering independence within the Medway and Swale communities. They achieve this through a diverse range of programmes, including the Gillingham Safe Haven for out-of-hours mental health support, Medway Men in Sheds which promotes cognitive and physical activity through hands-on projects, and the Sunlight Dementia Support Café offering a supportive environment for social connection. Additionally, they provide community gardens for hire, electronic engineering workshops via their Creative Cabin, and services like a Wellbeing Cafe and Anger Management, all aimed at holistically supporting the local population.

Project Details

Sunlight recently adopted a small pocket park in the community called the Recycled Garden. The idea is local people can come to this shared space to grow produce, learn about growing and make new connections being community cohesion. As popularity has grown, there are adaptations that need to be made to make the site more accessible, along with some cosmetic upgrades. Your task will be to revamp this garden:

Building additional movable seating
Remove crazy paving and install 15m pathway
Pruning bushes
Painting existing structures

On-site support

On the day Participate will be providing a member of staff to support the volunteers. A first aid kit will be available during the challenge. A tools talk and health and safety briefing will be given by Participate at the beginning of the day.

Number of Volunteers
We are seeking a team of between 15-20 volunteers for this activity.

Preparation

Volunteers will be undertaking gardening and decorating activities and are required to wear old and reasonably robust clothing. Volunteers should pay particular attention to footwear wearing tough shoes or boots. Painting boiler suits will be provided, but do not guarantee the safety of clothing. Where personal protective equipment is required it will be provided. This will include new gloves.

Materials, tools and equipment

Tools and materials will be provided by Participate Projects & Vanquis Banking Group

Sunlight Centre

Key Documents

These must be read by all volunteers taking part in this volunteer day.

Download the Project Plan

Download the Key Info

Download the Risk Assessment