Over 40 staff and students at the University of Warwick volunteered to transform junk into amazing Christmas decorations for the community this week.

Warwick Volunteers worked with YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire to organise the Tree-mendous Giving Tuesday event for its upcycling social enterprise, called YMCA Up, to showcase volunteering opportunities in the region.

The volunteers created Christmas trees and decorations from items of rubbish and they will now be donated to community organisations.

The event took place on a global day of giving, Giving Tuesday. It was also an opportunity to launch a programme of one-off events designed to make volunteering accessible to students who are keen to get involved but cannot make a regular commitment.

One of the trees produced will be available to view at the Earlsdon Christmas Tree festival, held at Earlsdon Methodist Church from 11-14 December.

Abigail Jones from Warwick Volunteers said: “It’s been brilliant to collaborate with YMCA Up on Giving Tuesday to produce amazing Christmas decorations that we can donate to the local community. We are especially pleased that so many students have today pledged their time to volunteer at YMCA projects. We have over 1800 student members volunteering in the local community and we are always keen to make links with new community partners who can benefit from our help.”

Andy Winter, Chief Executive of YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire said: “We were pleased to support Warwick Volunteers in this fun event showcasing our social enterprise YMCA Up, which transforms old unused products and materials into new and exciting things. We have a wide range of volunteering opportunities and welcome anyone wanting to give time to support our work. It really does make a huge difference.”

For further information about Warwick Volunteers please visit www.warwick.ac.uk/about/community/volunteers. For more information about the YMCA, please visit http://www.coventryandwarwickshire-ymca.org.uk