Back in March, we had the pleasure of being involved in a DIY SOS project in our hometown.

The Big Build Stoke saw a piece of wasteland in the Fegg Hayes area of the city transformed into an engaging, productive, green space for local charity, the Sylvester Community Trust.

The charity tackles issues like food poverty, isolation and mental health in the local community, and needed a dedicated hub to boost their efforts which include delivering food donation boxes, running workshops and facilitating the Fegg Hayes Young Voices group.

Over the course of two weeks – during which three of the worst storms to ever hit Britain took place – the DIY SOS team transformed the empty land into an amazing space, with the help of volunteers from both Stoke-on-Trent and further afield. The end result was an accessible garden for children and adults alike, an outdoor amphitheatre where the charity plan to hold events, and a central hub incorporating office space, storage, a kitchen for cooking lessons and a workshop where men in the community can get together in a bid to prevent isolation and loneliness.

We were delighted to donate stormproof casement windows to the worthwhile cause, which transformed the shipping containers that house the new charity hub into usable, light-filled spaces. Made from pine with toughened glass, the timber windows featured black hardware to match the black stain that the DIY SOS designers planned to finish them with. A key element of the build was for it to be as sustainable as possible, so using timber windows fitted the brief perfectly.

Two of the Wooden Windows team, Andy and Barry, headed down to the big reveal of the charity’s new home and were in awe of what the once unused space had been turned into. The charity now has a much-needed productive, eco-friendly space where all members of the local community can get together, take part in workshops and activities, learn new skills and have fun.

We’re so pleased to have played a small part in this project in our hometown, and were absolutely inspired by the effort and generosity of all the businesses and individuals who got involved and dug deep, especially those working on site during some absolutely awful weather conditions – their determination to get the job done was incredible!