A Gap Year with a Difference

In recent years, it has become common for young people to take a gap year between school and further education or employment, or a year out later on before seeking work. Internships are offered by some charities and companies, enabling young people to gain experience in a role and build up their experience, or build up their CV!

Caring For Life’s Time For Jesus year is a gap year with a difference, as it provides young people with a real experience of Christian ministry, working with the staff team and getting involved in a huge variety of tasks. There are also regular, dedicated times to talk through the Christian faith and to study the Bible together.

Hannah, Matthew and Jovie joined the team this week and have been busy undertaking induction, learning their way around Crag House Farm, where Caring For Life is based, getting to know staff, volunteers and the many people attending various projects, and generally getting stuck in! 

At this time of the year, one major role is to help to sort all the wonderful harvest gifts that come in, replenishing the food stores for the coming year. But whether it is sorting tins, packing up Christmas cards, helping with lunches, working on different projects, being a listening ear, or undertaking any of a myriad tasks, it is all a part of sharing the love of Jesus here at Caring For Life. And from what many former Time For Jesus volunteers have described, this gap year is an amazing experience that will stay with them, on through life. 

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Harvest and Harvesting

A team from Xiros came along to Caring For Life recently to lend a hand for the day, helping with both sorting harvest and harvesting! They worked really hard, on what turned out to be a beautiful, warm autumn day.

In the morning, the team helped to sort tinned food and other food items, getting the food stores tidied up and ready for the influx of harvest gifts which were due any day.

In the afternoon they tackled harvest of a different kind, picking apples here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life.

The apples are turned into pressed apple juice, and the fruit has to be picked at just the right time! 

We are really thankful to the team for all their efforts, and their very practical support of Caring For Life’s work. 

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Timely Help

With a number of staff and volunteers taking leave during the school holidays, it has been a real blessing to have some timely help this week! 

Bryn is helping for a few days and has got stuck into a myriad jobs in the Nurseries. One task which has kept him really busy is strawberry picking! 

Our 'grow gutter' crops in the poly tunnels have been fruiting beautifully, producing delicious strawberries which currently appear on the Granary Restaurant menu on site, and which are also being sold by the punnet. Spare strawberries are turned into jams and sweet vinegars in our production kitchen, so it really is "strawberry time” here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life!

Anastasia is volunteering for a couple of weeks and has already been involved with deadheading in the Nurseries, has assisted on the Poultry Project and helped out in the ArtShop Project. There is plenty more time for her to volunteer on other projects and we have a full list of tasks lined up!

At Caring For Life we really appreciate and value the help of all our volunteers, and a timely bit of help is always a big boost in helping us to cope during the summer. 

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