CATS team doubles its efforts for annual Teesside charity drive

Volunteers from the CATS terminal on Teesside doubled their efforts to support two local organisations, as part of the team’s annual charity drive in September.

One team spent a day litter picking on North Gare beach near Seaton Carew on the County Durham coast. North Gare is one of the three sandy beaches along the County Durham coastline. Backed by low sand dunes, the beach forms part of the Teesmouth National Nature Reserve, which is managed by Natural England.

The team collected 50 bin bags of rubbish and recovered a number of large items such as tyres and lobster pots.

At the same time, another team was at the Teesside Ability Support Centre in Middlesbrough, decorating some of their facilities, including a small tea serving area, a hallway and a number of outside walls in the garden. The centre which was established in 1967, provides social care and life skills learning opportunities for disabled adults with differing abilities, and has over 100 members.

Sarah Torrance, management assistant at the CATS terminal and one of the members of the CATS social responsibility team said: “We were delighted to be able to make a difference in two completely different locations. North Gare is a beautiful beach and it’s sad to see how much rubbish ends up there and elsewhere along the coast.

“Decorating at the Support Centre was really worthwhile too. It’s amazing how a bit of fresh paint can make a place feel much brighter and more welcoming. It seems like such a small thing, but a team like ours going into the Centre for a day really does make a huge difference to the staff and the members.”