NFU donates £6.3k to Praxis Care Sensory Garden project in Portadown

A new sensory garden is to be created at Portadown’s Praxis Care centre following a donation of £6k from NFU Mutual Insurance.
By Carmel Robinson
Published 10th May 2023, 11:14 BST
Updated 10th May 2023, 11:14 BST
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Delighted staff and trainees at Praxis Care are thrilled with the gift and have big plans for a disused area at their Lurgan Road centre.

The Praxis Care site currently operates as a bakery at which trainees bake goods which are sold commercially as well as a centre for those working on the charity’s nearby garden.

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Now, a disused outside area of the site will be transformed into a sensory garden which will also be maintained by trainees.

Praxis Care staff and trainees are creating a new sensory garden at their Portadown site on the Lurgan Road thanks to a gift of over £6k from the NFU Mutual Insurance. Pictured l-r standing: NFU Insurance Agent Avril Macauley, Jordan Marrs, Relief Team Leader Paul Galloway, Support Worker Deborah Smith, Team Leader Melissa Robinson, NFU Office Manager Susan Black. Front row seated: John Huntsdale and Robert Hart.Praxis Care staff and trainees are creating a new sensory garden at their Portadown site on the Lurgan Road thanks to a gift of over £6k from the NFU Mutual Insurance. Pictured l-r standing: NFU Insurance Agent Avril Macauley, Jordan Marrs, Relief Team Leader Paul Galloway, Support Worker Deborah Smith, Team Leader Melissa Robinson, NFU Office Manager Susan Black. Front row seated: John Huntsdale and Robert Hart.
Praxis Care staff and trainees are creating a new sensory garden at their Portadown site on the Lurgan Road thanks to a gift of over £6k from the NFU Mutual Insurance. Pictured l-r standing: NFU Insurance Agent Avril Macauley, Jordan Marrs, Relief Team Leader Paul Galloway, Support Worker Deborah Smith, Team Leader Melissa Robinson, NFU Office Manager Susan Black. Front row seated: John Huntsdale and Robert Hart.

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Michelle Wolfe, Praxis Care site manager, says she, her team and the 18 people they support are grateful to the NFU for the £6,379 cheque.

“We are over the moon to receive this generous gift,” says Michelle. “It is a very substantial sum which will go a long way towards helping us create a wonderful outdoor environment for our staff and trainees to enjoy and promote their wellbeing.”

NFU Mutual senior insurance agent Avril Macauley, who handed over the cheque in a ceremony at the future garden’s site, says she is delighted the money will be used for a specific project.

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“NFU Mutual has been a champion of rural communities the length and breadth of the UK for over 110 years, and the Agency Giving Fund champions local causes that are working day and night to change people’s lives and give hope for a better future,” says Ms Macauley. “We’re extremely proud to have nominated Praxis Care for this donation and are delighted to be able to support the vital contribution they make to our community.”

Praxis Care’s approach has always been collaborative, says Ms Wolfe, and the ambition is to create the best possible conditions for trainees to thrive and to live their best life.

“The sensory garden is a good strategic fit with this ambition and we look forward to inviting the NFU back to see for themselves what great use of their donation we will have made.”

Praxis Care provides support and accommodation approaches, which are shaped around the needs and preferences of the individual and reflects how they want to live their lives.

Related topics:Praxis CareNFU MutualPortadown