Transforming spaces, transforming lives

Our goal is to contribute positively and profoundly to local life. When we were approached by the lovely people at Odd Arts to help them transform their outdoor wellbeing space, we didn’t hesitate to get involved with them.

Our commitment as a B-Corp is a testament to our charity and volunteering work. But it’s been something close to our hearts long before that B-Corp journey even started.

Because we successfully adopted the four-day week, our team have even more time and flexibility to volunteer for a worthwhile cause. That could be anything from supporting the care of a family member through to supporting local charities. Recently, lots of people put their hands up when we told them about a meaningful project with the Odds Arts team.

Odd Arts is a Manchester-based charity that uses theatre to address social inequalities and enhance opportunities for marginalised groups. They engage with over 25,000 people every year across various sectors, including criminal justice, training and education, community and health.  

They work with their participants to create productions based on lived experience. They provide interactive theatre, covering subjects like radicalisation, criminal exploitation, relationships and mental health.  

• Therapeutic theatre workshops aimed at reducing the risk to vulnerable members of the community. 

• Interactive theatre tours that empower marginalised groups and educate people about overcoming challenges.

• Creative and community-led social action projects to take positive steps towards change for the better. 

The Odd Arts mission? Challenge the way people perceive themselves and the world we live in. They use creativity and performance as a gateway to positive change for disadvantaged community members. We were thrilled to get involved and contribute with this truly amazing charity.  

We were invited over to the new home of Odd Arts  at the Aquarius Centre in South Manchester to transform their creative wellbeing space. It’s where they engage with the local community, helping the disadvantaged people in the area find a voice and instigate positive change. They saw an opportunity to make the space more welcoming and greener. 

After an initial visit to the charity, we agreed that there was real potential to improve their outdoor space. We knew we could use our landscape and ecological skills to create something special. 

For our first task, we focused on transforming the space surrounding a shipping container, which is used for their one-to-one sessions. The team pulled together some sketch ideas and then worked hard with the Odd Arts team to make it a reality. We supplied topsoil, materials and new plants to give the space more character. We introduced some garden furniture to make it a more pleasant place to dwell and inspire creativity for the Odd Arts team.  

We also gifted the Odd Arts team a new speaker system, to ensure the space is full of sound too! 

We relish the opportunity to get creative, especially when we can transform a green space for the better. Going forwards, we’ll help the Odd Arts volunteers to know how to look after the new wellbeing space we created together, and we’ll continue supporting with regular visits. We’re already looking forward to our first maintenance visit in a couple of weeks 

They shared their skills with us too. It was fascinating to learn how the team use theatre as a social change power. And it was fun to get out of our comfort zones with some creative, theatrical tasks – one of which involved making the sounds of inanimate objects! (if you want to know what a Mars bar sounds like, give us a shout, we’re experts now). 

It was an amazing day. We had the opportunity to have some fun with the theatre tasks that the team had organised for us and we were delighted to be able to make a lasting positive impact on the wellbeing space. Crucially, we got to know more about the important work that Odd Arts do. 

Being able to make a difference to a local charity is a real privilege to us. Especially when that charity has such a strong impact on vulnerable people in the community. Through volunteering projects like this one, we hope to be able to spread the word about the good work they do and grow their impact.  

We’re committed to volunteering to help causes that align with the values of our business. If you’re a charity organisation looking for volunteers to help grow your reach and impact, we’d love to hear from you and chat about how we can help.  

Get in touch with us on hello@tylergrange.co.uk