Gifted
Situated right in the heart of the local community in Highcliffe, Gifted is our garden centre and café that provides a unique opportunity on a busy high street for people to gain skills and experience in the retail, horticulture and hospitality industry, alongside access to other vocational activities, such as woodwork and arts and crafts.
Our café is a popular venue with local residents and many have built strong and positive relationships with our service user volunteers and this is helping them to develop their social interaction skills, customer service skills and confidence.
Many of the plants that are sold at Gifted have been grown by at The Stables by our service users, and volunteering at Gifted enables them to see the journey of the plants they grow from seeds or cuttings, into a saleable plant that finds a place to thrive in a new garden!
Katie’s Story
As a volunteer at Gifted our service users are able to experience what it is like to work in a busy retail environment, and learn valuable skills that will support them to access other similar volunteering or employment opportunities in the future, including:
- Maintaining retail displays
- Managing cash and card sales
- Reconciling income from sales
- Customer service
- Stock rotation and ordering
We also sell pots, bird houses, bug hotels and other bespoke items that have been crafted by our service users at out other sites, which adds to the unique feel of the environment at Gifted.
- Improved social interaction and inclusion
- Improved communication skills
- Better financial acumen
- Improved mental and physical wellbeing