Didsbury Park volunteers celebrated a magnificent milestone having recently contributed more than 50,000 hours of volunteering service in the park since they began back in November 2014.
This incredible achievement was marked by a party in Didsbury Park attended by the Lord Mayor of Manchester Carmine Grimshaw, and Executive member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods Cllr Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods .
It was also a reunion of old and new volunteers with some of the original volunteers who started the journey back in 2014 returning to celebrate the momentous occasion.
Volunteers on the day didn’t stop working and before the celebration 36 of them were busy tending to the Flower Walk, installing the last of the football goals and nets in time for the start of the football season, with the cricket pitch being mowed and re-marked to ensure that enthusiasts had somewhere to play in the dying days of summer with others pruning and weeding and tidying up the entrances to the park.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods said:
” I would like to wholeheartedly thank the volunteers for the fantastic work that they have done and the amazing contribution they have made to this park. Hundreds of volunteers have spared 50,000 hours of their time and effort over the last 11 years and have achieved amazing results and will continue to do so. You are all inspirational and unselfish to do this work for the benefit of all and it works out at more than half a million investment into the park – which is truly staggering.
“As a council we are proud to support all our dedicated volunteers across the city, whose passion and commitment make a lasting difference in our parks and communities every day.”
Brian Johnson, Chair, Friends of Didsbury Park said:
“This was a truly memorable day, and I would like to pass on my heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers over the last 11 years who have help to achieve truly amazing results in this park. I was delighted that so many people made the effort to come along and mark this memorable milestone in the park’s history.”
