Our IT Sales Administrator Laura Cornforth completed her Employer Supported Volunteering last month, working on lost property with charity Festival Angels at Leeds Festival.
Tasks included logging lost items that were handed in, photographing them for the system and greeting and attempting to reunite people with lost items. In addition, the team uses unclaimed items from previous years to replace lost items, such as tents (that blew away in the 70mph winds!), sleeping bags and clothes so that they aren’t without.
The Festival Angels were also on hand to provide support to anyone who may have been distressed about their missing property – a listening ear can make all the difference in these situations.
Over the course of the festival, over 1000 items were handed in and processed by the volunteers, including phones, wallets, keys, tents, bags, even medication, the team successfully reunited one person with their insulin! Many valuable items are returned to their owners after the festival. Any festival goers searching for missing items can create an alert and record their contact details so that they can be contacted if their item is recovered.
Laura said “Volunteering with Festival Angels was an amazing experience and I was able to help many festival goers in their time of need thanks to Primary Technology’s supported volunteering scheme”.
In 2011, Festival Angels started life as a Prayer Tent at Leeds Festival with twelve volunteers from a local church community. Fast forward to 2024, Festival Angels have attended around 60 festivals and events from May – September and provide a range of invaluable services such as prayer cafes, detached teams, safe place hubs and lost property.
From feedback on their website, it’s clear to see what a valuable service Festival Angels provide:
“A big thank you from many parents and grandparents who have teenagers at this festival”
“What fantastic people – they helped my daughter’s friends! Thanks and keep up the good work!“