Salvation Army’s Booth House to get spring spruce up from Nationwide staff

A Swindon residential centre for people experiencing homelessness will get a mini makeover on Tuesday, 9 May, courtesy of staff volunteers from the Nationwide building society.  

A team from the local Nationwide are donating their free time for a whole day to do some gardening and tidy the exterior of Booth House; a Salvation Army centre that provides accommodation and practical support to help people escape the cycle of homelessness.    

The spring clean-up — in time for the centre’s 10th anniversary — ushers in a new era for Booth House.  From July it will also be a base for the Salvation Army’s in-house Employment Plus service, providing help to job seekers throughout Swindon.    

Situated on Spring Close, in the heart of Swindon, Booth House is already home to two thriving social enterprises – Recycles, which sells reconditioned bicycles and The Sandwich People, an external catering service.  Both are run by lifehouse service users and volunteers; with support and training from qualified staff.    

Booth House Service Manager, Elizabeth Osborne said;   “Nationwide have been hugely supportive of Booth House for many years. Their staff have worked closely with us on a number of really positive initiatives including the Emerging Talents Programme working with Recycles.  

“Nationwide’s team of staff volunteers are always willing to give us a hand with anything, which is why we’re so grateful that they’re helping us look spick and span in time for Booth House’s 10th anniversary celebrations and the launch of our Employment Plus service.  We’re also really grateful to Homebase and Dobbies Garden Centre for donating so many of the plants and materials for our new and improved garden and exterior.”    

Nationwide’s Apprentice Training Consultant, Ella Greenwood said:  

“It has been an absolute pleasure and honour working with everyone at Booth House. My team wanted to really give back to our community and Booth House work incredibly hard to help so many individuals. When we visited Booth House it became very clear how important the garden is to the residents. We wanted to improve this space for them because it holds so much value.    

“Fundraising and planning this has been great fun and we’re very proud to have been involved with Booth House. We will definitely keep in touch and are more than happy to help them in any way we can in the future!”   Booth Lifehouse is at the forefront of The Salvation Army’s mission to enable people experiencing difficulties to improve their own lives.  

The range of practical support, learning and development it provides to its service users; along with accommodation and resettlement, helps people experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable, independent living.